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Nearly half a century after his death, Ernesto "Che" Guevara remains a compelling and controversial figure. He was an original social theorist, and many of his writings attest to an innovative interpretation of various concepts and commitments central to Marxist thought. This is one of the first works to comprehensively consider his contribution to social and political theory for a student audience. Firstly, the book provides thorough and reliable accounts of the key theses, concepts and commitments that give Che Guevara's theoretical, and political, orientation its distinctive character. It addresses Guevara's views on topics such as work, morality in socialism, egalitarianism, prefigurative politics, internationalism, and the process of "disembourgeoisement". Secondly, the study situates Guevara's ideas within the context of the Marxist theoretical tradition and, on the other hand, twentieth-century Latin American social thought. To this end, it will explore both the affinities and dissimilarities between Guevara's views on certain fundamental questions and the views represented by such figures as Marx, Lenin, Herbert Marcuse and Jose Carlos Mariategui. Finally, The Political Thought of Che Guevara will provide critical assessments of Che's key ideas, many of which remain relevant to contemporary debates in socialist theory.
List of contents
Introduction / Chapter One: The New Human Being / Chapter Two: The Problem of Work / Chapter Three: Internationalism and Anti-Imperialism / Chapter Four: Socialism, Communism and Revolution / Chapter Five: Consolidating the Revolution and the Building of Socialism / Chapter Six: the Guevarist Legacy / Bibliography / Index
About the author
Renzo Llorente, Professor of Philosophy at Saint Louis University, Madrid Campus. He is the translator and editor of The Marxism of Manuel Sacristán: From Communism to the New Social Movements (2014) and the author of Beyond the Pale: Exercises in Provocation (2010).
Practice Areas
- Social and Political Philosophy
- Ethics
- Latin American Philosophy
Summary
This book offers a philosophically-informed exploration of Che Guevara’s most important contributions to radical political and social theory. This is the first work to seriously consider his contribution to social and political theory for students of Latin American history and politics/
