关键词: 曼德拉, 《漫漫自由路》, 自传, 西方马克思主义

Abstract: Former South African President Nelson Mandela is a legendary figure in the world. Mandela’s autobiography, Long Walk to Freedom, has become a bestseller in many languages worldwidely. Although Mandela claimed on several occasions that he was not a Communist, a study of his autobiographical statements will undoubtedly prove that Mandela was in fact deeply influenced by Marxism and eventually by Western Marxism school, from his words to his program of action. By enumerating historical materials and analyzing his autobiographical statements, the article is to show Western Marxism’s profound influence on him from following five perspectives. First, Mandela did not fully agree with Stalinism, meanwhile, he had read the works of Marx, Engels, Stalin and Mao Zedong. Secondly, the actions of the ANC, led by Mandela, fit much with Western Marxism’s ideas. Thirdly, Mandela had close contacts with the leaders of the South African Communist Party, and his imprisonment was also sentenced under The Anti-Communism Act. Fourthly, although the ANC’s later “Spear of the Nation” movement was also an armed struggle, on the whole he advocated non-violence and peaceful reconciliation to solve racial conflicts. Last, Mandela’s political tendencies during his presidency time to some extent confirmed this claim in his autobiography.

Key words: Mandela, biography, Long Walk to Freedom, Western Marxism