After the independence of African States in the 1960s, African regimes realized that they could not consider themselves victors over Europeans if they used the same system of management as their 'oppressors' - capitalism. Socialism was popular among African leaders as it represented a break with the imperial tradition of government. Supporters of African socialism argued that it was neither the opposite of capitalism nor a response to it, but something completely different. They believed that their socialism was just a new embodiment of what is essentially African. Many arguments were presented in support of African socialism, including the extreme archaism of the social structure of many African countries, which made it impossible to choose the market-capitalist model as an ideal.