Bread and Beauty: The Cultural Politics of José Carlos Mariátegui

Historical Materialism #217

by Juan E. De Castro

Influenced by anarchism and especially by anarcho-syndicalist Georges Sorel, the political praxis of Peruvian activist and scholar José Carlos Mariátegui (1894-1930) deviated from the policies mandated by the Comintern. Mariátegui saw only new subjectivities as capable of making a revolution that would not recreate bourgeois or fascist structures. For Mariátegui, a new society required a new culture. He therefore not only founded the Peruvian Socialist Party, but also created Amauta, a magazine that brought together the writings of the political and cultural avant-gardes. Thus, in addition to studying Mariátegui's views on the political valence of cultural habits and products, Bread and Beauty looks at the cultural underpinnings of the political proposals found in his writings and actions.

Genres: Nonfiction, History

256 pages, Hardcover

Published January 1, 2020

Reviews

[David · Rating 2 out of 5]

Interesting in its analysis of Mariategui as a precursor of Gramsci, "cosmopolitan nationalism," as well as Foucauldian discursive analysis. Some strange spelling errors (Ho Chi Minh is "Ming," at one point), unfortunately blanket condemnation of the Comintern and attempts to cleave Mariategui from Leninism by extrapolation rather than direct evidence. Uncritical of Mariategui's Freudianism.