Sosyalizm ve İnsan

by Ernesto Che Guevara

Guevara's best-known presentation of the political tasks and challenges in leading the transition from capitalism to socialism. Includes Castro's 1987 speech on the 20th anniversary of Guevara's death.

Genres: Politics, Nonfiction, History, Theory, Philosophy, Essays, Spanish Literature

104 pages, Paperback

First published March 1, 1965

About the author

Ernesto "Che" Guevara, commonly known as El Che or simply Che, was a Marxist revolutionary, physician, author, intellectual, guerrilla leader, diplomat, and military theorist. A major figure of the Cuban Revolution, since his death Guevara's stylized visage has become an ubiquitous countercultural symbol and global icon within popular culture.

His belief in the necessity of world revolution to advance the interests of the poor prompted his involvement in Guatemala's social reforms under President Jacobo Arbenz, whose eventual CIA-assisted overthrow solidified Guevara's radical ideology. Later, while living in Mexico City, he met Raúl and Fidel Castro, joined their movement, and travelled to Cuba with the intention of overthrowing the U.S.-backed Batista regime. Guevara soon rose to prominence among the insurgents, was promoted to second-in-command, and played a pivotal role in the successful two year guerrilla campaign that topled the Cuban government.

After serving in a number of key roles in the new government, Guevara left Cuba in 1965 to foment revolution abroad, first unsuccessfully in Congo-Kinshasa and later in Bolivia, where he was captured by CIA-assisted Bolivian forces and executed.

Guevara remains both a revered and reviled historical figure, polarized in the collective imagination in a multitude of biographies, memoirs, essays, documentaries, songs, and films. Time magazine named him one of the 100 most influential people of the 20th century, while an Alberto Korda photograph of him entitled "Guerrillero Heroico," was declared "the most famous photograph in the world" by the Maryland Institute of Art.

Reviews

[Peiman E iran]

‎دوستانِ گرانقدر، این کتاب به نامه ای مربوط میشود که <چه گوآرا> برایِ سردبیرِ هفته نامۀ «مارچا» نوشت .. که در کشورِ اروگوئه، منتشر شد... بخش هایی از جملاتِ خردمندانهٔ چه گوآرا را به انتخاب در زیر برایِ شما خردگرایانِ گرامی مینویسم... این جملات بی گمان تعریفی از مردمانی است که این روزها ساکن در سرزمینِ عزیزتر از جانم، "ایران" هستند
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‎اکنون در تاریخِ انقلابِ کوبا، شخصیتی با خصوصیاتِ کاملاً مشخصِ خود پدیدار شده بود، شخصیتی که از آن پس بطور منظم اعلام حضور ميکرد: «تودۀ مردم» ... بله، «تودۀ مردم»، اين موجودِ کثيرالچهره، آنگونه که ادعا میشود، حاصل جمعِ عناصر همگون نيست... آنهم عناصری که به دستِ نظامِ حاکم به يک قماش تنزل يافته اند... قماشی که مانند یک گلۀ گوسفند عمل میکند
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‎عزیزانم، زمانی که این جملات از <چه گوآرا> را خواندم، به یکباره ملتِ ایران، که البته بهتر است بگویم امتِ ایران (زیرا بیشترِ مردمی که هم اکنون در ایران زندگی میکنند ایرانی نیستند، بلکه عرب پرستانی هستند که امتِ اسلامی را ساخته اند) را تجسم نمودم و یادِ آن جملۀ «علی شریعتی»، آن بیسوادِ بی اصل و ریشه و پست نهاد افتادم که گفت: "امام پیشوا است و عامل حیات و حرکت امت است، وجود و بقای اوست که وجود و بقای امت را ممکن میسازد. حیات وجود امت مستلزم روحی است بنام امام... بنابراین انسانی که امام خود را نمی شناسد بمانند گوسفندی است که شبان خود را گم کرده باشد
‎ دوستانِ عزیز و نورِ چشمانم، ببینید سرزمینِ پاکمان تا چه اندازه خار و کوچک شده است که عرب پرستانِ کثیف و حرامی همچون علی شریعتیِ بی بُته و بی ریشه، که خودشان همچون شتر، بدنبالِ بیابان گردهایِ وحشی و بی فرهنگ عربستان، راه افتاده اند و خویش را سگِ دربارِ این تازیانِ بیابانی میدانستند، باید این مردم را گوسفند خطاب کنند
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‎در بخشی از این نامه، <چه گوآرا> میگوید: این که فقرا و ضعیفان در آن دنیا به پاداشِ اعمالِ خود میرسند، خرافات و موهوماتی است که نظامِ سرمایه داری در سرِ مردم جا میاندازد، خود این دنیا را دارند و آن دنیایِ موهوم و پوشالی و دروغین را به مردم وعده میدهند
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‎امیدوارم این ریویو در جهتِ شناختِ این کتاب، کافی و مفید بوده باشه
‎<پیروز باشید و ایرانی>

[Peiman E iran]

در ابتدا باید بگم، نمیدونم چرا «فیدل کاسترو» نامش در کنارِ نامِ «چه گوآرا » به عنوانِ نویسنده نوشته شده!! احتمالاً همانطور که در مبارزه تمامِ زحمات رو چه گوآرا کشید و به نامِ کاسترو تمام شد، اینجا هم همینجوری باید اسمش آورده شه
دوستانِ گرانقدر، تا اونجا که یادم میاد این نوشته، مربوط میشه به نامه ای که چه گوآرا برایِ سردبیرِ هفته نامۀ « مارچا » نوشت .. که در کشورِ اروگوئه، منتشر شد

دوستانِ خردمندِ ایرانی، بخش هایی از جملاتِ زیبایِ چه گوآرا رو انتخاب کردم که در اینجا مینویسم... جملاتی که بی شک تعریفی از مردمانی است که این روزها ساکن در سرزمینِ عزیزتر از جانم، ایران هستن

اکنون در تاریخِ انقلابِ کوبا، شخصیتی با خصوصیاتِ کاملاً مشخصِ خود پدیدار شده بود، شخصیتی که از آن پس بطور منظم اعلام حضور ميکرد: «تودۀ مردم» ... بله، «تودۀ مردم»، اين موجودِ کثيرالچهره، آنگونه که ادعا میشود، حاصل جمعِ عناصر همگون نيست... آنهم عناصری که به دستِ نظامِ حاکم به يک قماش تنزل يافته اند... قماشی که مانند یک گلۀ گوسفند عمل میکند
دوستان خردمند وقتی این جمله از چه گوآرایِ بزرگ رو خوندم، به یکباره ملتِ ایران، که البته بهتر است بگوییم امتِ ایران ( چون مردمی که الان ساکن ایران هستن ایرانی نیستن، اکثراً عرب پرست هستن) رو تجسم کردم و یادِ آن جملۀ « علی شریعتی» آن بیسوادِ حرامزاده و بی اصل و ریشه افتادم که گفت: « امام پیشوا است و عامل حیات و حرکت امت است، وجود و بقای اوست که وجود و بقای امت را ممکن میسازد. حیات وجود امت مستلزم روحی است بنام امام... بنابراین انسانی که امام خود را نمی شناسد بمانند گوسفندی است که شبان خود را گم کرده باشد »
چقدر مردم سرزمینمون خار و کوچک شدن که عرب پرستانِ کثافتی همچون علی شریعتیِ بی بته، که خودشان همچون شتر، بدنبالِ بیابان گردهایِ نجسِ عربستان، راه افتاده اند، باید این مردم رو گوسفند خطاب کنه

در بخشی از این نامه، چه گوآرا میگه، این که فقرا و ضعیفان در آن دنیا به پاداشِ اعمالِ خود میرسن، خرافات و موهوماتی است که نظامِ سرمایه داری در سرِ مردم جا میاندازد، خود این دنیا را دارند و آن دنیایِ موهوم و پوشالی را به مردم وعده میدهند

دوستانِ خردمند، امیدوارم این نامه یا مقاله رو بخونید... دنیایی از جملاتِ پر معنا، بود
در پایان این نامه آمده بود، « یا مرگ یا وطن»
ای کاش روزی برسه که قدرِ خاکِ سرزمینِ عزیزمون ایران رو بدونیم و شعارِ اندیشمندان و بزرگانِ سرزمینمون که مبارزه با خرافات و عرب پرستی، بوده رو سر لوحۀ کارِ خود قرار بدیم

پیروز باشید و ایرانی

[Amirsaman]

ادعای خیلی بزرگی است اینکه بگوییم حالا که در دنیای سرمایه‌داری، مردم از شغل‌هایشان فقط برای رسیدن به پول و مصرفِ بیشتر استفاده می‌کنند و ازخودبیگانه می‌شوند (چون مالکِ کالای تولیدی‌شان نیستند)، پس ما جامعه‌مان را سوسیالیستی می‌کنیم و این مسئله را حل می‌کنیم. البته هم چگوارا و هم فیدل کاسترو اذعان می‌کنند که نتوانستند این مسئله را کاملا حل کنند و حتا چگوارا به این اصل بدیهی معترف است که بعضی شغل‌ها واقعا دوست‌نداشتنی‌اند.
اما راه‌حل کوبا جالب است. آن‌ها نوعی جهاد ایجاد کرده‌اند که کارگران از کارخانه‌هایشان مرخصی می‌گیرند و برای ساختن مدرسه و درمانگاهْ داوطلبانه کار می‌کنند. کاسترو معتقد است این‌گونه، کارگران باعلاقه کار می‌کنند و هم کارشان کیفیت بیشتری دارد و هم دولت سود می‌کند.
کاسترو چند جایی هم در سخنرانی‌اش می‌گوید امپریالیست‌ها مردم را خر می‌کنند و بیماری قلبی می‌گیرند چون کار نمی‌کنند، برخلاف ما.

اما کوبا موردی نیست که بشود سرسری‌اش گرفت، با این همه تحریم و فشاری که بهش تحمیل می‌شود. باید از نزدیک دید.
چه کسی هست که با من به کوبا بیاید؟

[Fatemeh (Samin) Mehrasa]

همانطور که خوزه ماری گفتست: همچنان که انسان هایی وجود دارند بی وقار و بی غرور، انسان های دیگری هم می توان یافت که در درونشان وقار و غرور عده زیادی را حمل می کنند.

کمونیسم را قبول ندارم. مثل هر مکتب دیگری، اگر بدی هایی دارد، خوبی های خاص خودش را هم دارد. "چه" انسان خاصیست که هنوز برای من حل نشده است.


پی نوشت: کتاب رو از بیست و نهمین نمایشگاه تهران گرفتم.

[Menna]

"Let me say , at the risk of seeming ridiculous , that the true revolutionary is guided by great feelings of Love"

[misael]

Deixe-me dizer-lhe, correndo o risco de parecer ridículo, que o verdadeiro revolucionário é movido por grandes sentimentos de amor.

Neste ensaio em forma de resposta a uma pergunta do jornalista Carlos Quijano, do semanário Marcha, de Montevidéu, Che Guevara analisa, simultaneamente, as fases de aplicação do socialismo com o horizonte na construção da sociedade comunista, bem como a experiência cubana (até então) de progressivo estabelecimento da sociedade socialista.

Indispensável para quem pretende estudar a Revolução Cubana e o pensamento marxista-leninista latino-americano de Che e Fidel.

[John Farebrother]

Fascinating book from an iconic and controversial figure of the Cold War. It not only sets out the main thinking behind the American Revolution and its ultimate goals, but perhaps more importantly, allows a glimpse into the mind of the bearded doctor himself. A mind in which everything fit logically into an overarching, detailed world view and plan, where everyone had a place and a role. An expression of love for humanity, by a man accused by some of being a murderer. Is it a practical utopia, complete with road map? Historically, the US has for decades done everything in its power to make the Cuban revolution fail, including an aborted invasion at Playa Girón 1961. It is thus a rebel yell, a cry of defiance by a martyr of the revolution, and ranks alongside William Wallace's and Gavrilo Princip's calls to arms. Patria o muerte!

[Greg]

Two articles. The first by Ernesto Che Guevara 'Socialism and Man in Cuba', was written in the form of a letter to Carlos Quijano, editor of Marcha, a weekly published in Montevideo, Uruguay. It was first published in the March 12, 1965, issue of Marcha.

The second article is by Fidel Castro, 'Che's ideas are absolutely relevant today'. This speech was given on October 8, 1987, at the main ceremony marking the twentieth anniversary of Guevara's death. It was held at a newly completed electronic components factory in the city of Pinar del Rio.

[atefe]

از متن كتاب:
همان طور كه خوزه مارتى گفته است: همچنان كه انسان هايى وجود دارند بى وقار و بى غرور،
انسان هاى ديگرى هم مى توان يافت كه در درونشان وقار و غرور عده ى زيادى را حمل مى كنند. ما مى توانيم اضافه كنيم كه انسان هايى وجود دارند كه وقار و غرور جهان را با خود حمل مى كنند؛ و "چه" يكى از آنهاست.

[Ali Shiri]

محتوا و ایده‌ی مقاله‌‌ای که در کتاب منعکس شده با توجه به زمان و مکانی که "چگوارا" در آن می‌زیسته است، شاید مترقی و در مواردی راهگشا بوده باشد. اما با گذشت زمان، رخ‌داد حوادث و پختگی نوع بشر، اکنون بهتر می‌توان آن را نقد نمود.
با این‌همه باز چیزی از عظمت شخصیت "چ" و شکوه حرکت او و یارانش نمی‌کاهد.

[hilly]

they were cooking

[Alex Quintero]

Manifest en defensa de la vida i la llibertat, que estimula l'adquisició de consciència del nou home en el període de trànsit al socialisme. Parla del paper que han de tenir durant aquesta etapa els diferents actors: les masses, l'avantguarda del Partit, l'art, la ciència, etc. La forma que té el Che d'endinsar metàfores i matisos poètics en la seva prosa revolucionària m'ha meravellat.

[Leonardo]

Aquí Guevara está luchando precisamente con la relación entre eros (el amor
personal) y agape (el amor político) y defiende su exclusión mutua; los revolucionarios «no pueden descender, con pequeñas dosis de afecto diario, al nivel donde la gente ordinaria pone en práctica su amor»; en otras palabras, su amor debe permanecer «uno e indivisible», amor por el pueblo, por la exclusión de todos los apegos «patológicos». Aunque esta puede parecer la misma fórmula de la catástrofe «totalitaria » (un revolucionario matando a individuos reales a cuenta de una abstracción como «el pueblo»), hay otra manera mucho más refinada de interpretar la posición de Guevara. Habría que empezar con la paradoja de que el singular amor erótico, tomado precisamente como lo absoluto, no debería ser planteado como un objetivo directo; debería mantener el estatus de subproducto, de algo que recibimos en forma de una gracia inmerecida. La cuestión no es que «haya cosas más importantes que el amor»; un auténtico encuentro amoroso queda como un punto de referencia absoluto en la vida de cada uno (expresándolo en términos tradicionales, es «lo que da sentido a la propia vida»). Pero la dura lección que hay que aprender es que, precisamente como tal, el amor (la relación amorosa) no debería ser el objetivo directo de la vida de cada uno: cuando uno afronta la elección entre amor y deber, el deber debería prevalecer. El verdadero amor es modesto, como el de una pareja de una novela de Marguerite Duras: mientas los dos amantes se cogen de la mano, no se miran a los ojos; miran juntos hacia delante, a algún tercer punto, a su Causa común. Quizá no haya amor más grande que el de una pareja de revolucionarios, donde cada uno de los dos amantes está dispuesto a abandonar al otro en cualquier momento si la revolución lo exige. No se aman menos que la apasionada pareja dispuesta a suspender todos sus vínculos y obligaciones terrestres para arder en una noche de pasión incondicional; en todo caso, se aman más.

Viviendo en el Final de los Tiempos Pág.121

Hoy mi deber era

[Patricia Vidal]

El Che, desde Algeria, siempre dirige la mirada a Cuba, la vanguardia de América Latina <3 En este breve texto dirigido a Quijano, editor de Marcha, Guevara delinea las cualidades del revolucionario: la sociedad en transición no solo surge a través de la creación de estructuras sociales nuevas si no también requiere de la transformación profunda y radical de los hombres. El partido está compuesto por los mejores cuadros mediante un mecanismo que el Che describe de 'selección natural', la libertad emerge como sinónimo de dictadura del proletariado, y el amor, el deber y el sacrificio como ejes del 'patria o muerte': 'nuestros hijos deben tener y carecer de lo que tienen y de lo que carecen los hijos del hombre común'. El hombre nuevo se libera de la necesidad de venderse como mercancía y encuentra su realización plena en el trabajo, entendido como deber social y aporte colectivo. El arte y la cultura son de vital importancia en esta transformación subjetiva, pero raramente, afirma el Che, los intelectuales & artistas son de la misma hechura que los revolucionarios. For instance, la democracia no es otra cosa que el disfraz de la burguesía cuyos valores están profundamente arraigados, particularmente en las formas realistas de la literatura. Debido a la naturaleza tan radical de esta transición subjetiva, el Che subraya la importancia de la juventud, 'arcilla maleable' (más fáciles de dogmatizar I guess). Por otro lado, se filtran ya los obstáculos que la revolución encuentra para institucionalizarse. El Che repasa ligeramente su economía de base humanista. Y siempre reitera que si la revolución no se exporta, muere. La escritura de Guevara siembra banderas rojas sobre los peligros del escolasticismo que aqueja a las sociedades que implementan estructuras basadas en el pensamiento marxista-leninista (Stalin is this you?) Las ideas también deben transformarse de acuerdo a las realidades. No puedo evitar torcer la boca cuando encuentro los pasajes dedicados a Fidel Castro, el verdadero intérprete de las necesidades del pueblo. Gobierno y masa un solo latido, etc. Es un texto bellísimo hacia el final, cuando a riesgo de parecer ridículo (I quote), reflexiona sobre el amor [a la masa y las causas sagradas sobre todas las cosas], incluso en los momentos en que el revolucionario debe mantener la mente fría. Precisamente para poder tomar decisiones dolorosas (hemos fusilado, fusilamos y seguiremos fusilando, I guess).

[Guchu]

I got it for the titular Che letter-essay (of course), I didn't much care for Castro's speech made on the 20th anniversary of Che's death even after reading it.

Che’s essay sets out to respond to the argument that the success of a socialist state depends upon the abolition of the individual. He makes a few points but overall, that the individual must be one with their community and the community with its leaders/ the state. Which he does, a successful socialist project has to have the individual in formation with their community and the community in formation with the state.

The essay, however, doesn't address the *tendency* for socialist states to abolish the individual through coercive means- I deduced that that happens when the education of the individual is incomplete and the state does not correctly interpret the needs of the people. But I would have liked to hear more.

The essay can be found online here https://t.co/4zQgyaK4H1

[oscar]

he said the thing

[pao]

“…the true revolutionary is guided by great feelings of love.”

[Conor Fitzpatrick]

Che demonstrating how influential and incredible as a figure and man he was to the masses, followed by a beautiful tribute/analysis to Che written by Fidel Castro. GOATS.

[Dilan Prado]

Lo leí después de ver un video de un hombre muriéndose de desnutrición en Cuba con una remera del Che

[Kegan Tetz]

Very good

[Matt Lucente]

“The skeleton of our complete freedom is already formed. The flesh and the clothing are lacking; we will create them.”

This text is short but packed with useful takeaways and banger quotes. Guevara makes the very compelling argument that socialism cannot simply be reduced to a change in material property relations, but must also concern itself with the transformation of human individual consciousness—a “new consciousness”. This is where Che’s famous quote “Society as a whole must be converted into a gigantic school” comes from, and we can see this idea carried forward and more or less implemented in every successful socialist revolution to date. Throughout the history of socialist development, from China and Cuba to the DPRK and USSR, we see an enormous emphasis placed upon political education, literacy rates, and raising of social consciousness, something woefully absent from capitalist society. Che depicts the state of social consciousness in capitalist society fairly well I think, saying:

“In capitalist society individuals are controlled by a pitiless law usually beyond their comprehension. The alienated human specimen is tied to society as a whole by an invisible umbilical cord: the law of value. This law acts upon all aspects of one's life, shaping its course and destiny. The laws of capitalism, which are blind and are invisible to ordinary people, act upon the individual without he or she being aware of it. One sees only the vastness of a seemingly infinite horizon ahead. That is how it is painted by capitalist propagandists who purport to draw a lesson from the example of Rockefeller— whether or not it is true—about the possibilities of individual success. The amount of poverty and suffering required for a Rockefeller to emerge, and the amount of depravity entailed in the accumulation of a fortune of such magnitude, are left out of the picture, and it is not always possible for the popular forces to expose this clearly. (A discussion of how the workers in the imperialist countries gradually lose the spirit of working-class internationalism due to a certain degree of complicity in the exploitation of the dependent countries, and how this at the same time weakens the combativity of the masses in the imperialist countries, would be appropriate here, but that is a theme that goes beyond the scope of these notes.)”

This, I think, speaks to the insane degrees of capitalist propaganda and social conditioning we are subject to from birth here in the imperial core. Capitalism and the profit motive are sold to us as “human nature”, forcing us to the conclusion that struggling against it, and any alternative to it, are essentially impossible. There are myriad ways in which capitalism-imperialism, explicitly and implicitly, conditions us to accept and favor it, and Che only gives a brief sketch here. I do wish he had expounded more on the parenthetical bit at the end of the above quote as it’s something I’m deeply interested in, but I understand why he didn’t; this text is primarily focused on the transformation of individual consciousness in the context of revolutionary Cuba. He provides a sketch of how the material transformation of society occurs alongside and dialectically with the transformation of consciousness through explicit education, collective action, and revolutionary self-discipline and struggle. This is important primarily because, as Che says, “A common argument from the mouths of capitalist spokespeople, in the ideological struggle against socialism, is that socialism, or the period of building socialism into which we have entered, is characterized by the abolition of the individual for the sake of the state.” It must be understood and emphasized that this is not the case, and that under socialism the individual and their consciousness does not cease to exist, but exists and flourishes dialectically alongside the flourishing of material society. Socialism does not erase the individual, but frees them from the alienation, exploitation, and private self-interest which the capitalist mode of production bakes into our consciousness from an early age.

Che also touches on the dangers of dogmatism, the importance of proletarian internationalism, and the concrete ways in which socialist consciousness was being built and nurtured in Cuba at the time. This text is an excellent (and short) read for anyone concerned with the question of individualism and education under socialism, and really highlights to me just how heroic, loving, and committed to the people Che Guevara was. One can clearly see throughout the text how he dedicated his life’s work to improving the lives of the masses, emancipating them from imperialist oppression, and striving to build a better, more loving future for all of humanity. Great text, which I think could have benefited from being a bit longer and more in-depth. I’ll finish this review with the most famous quote from the text, and one which must hold true today for anyone committed to building a bright future for humanity.

“At the risk of seeming ridiculous, let me say that the true revolutionary is guided by great feelings of love. It is impossible to think of a genuine revolutionary lacking this quality.”

¡Venceremos!

[Alicia]

Probably one of the greatest Fantasy books published in the 20th century.

[Jade Lopez-Soto]

I LOVED it.

[Kevin Boardman]

"To sum up, the fault of many of our intellectuals and artists is to be found in their "original sin": they are not authentically revolutionary. We can attempt to graft elm trees so that they bear pears, but at the same time we must plant pear trees.....We do not want to create salaried workers docile to official thinking nor "fellows" who live under the wing of the budget, exercising freedom in quotation marks. Revolutionaries will come to sing to song of the new man with the authentic voice of the people."-Che Guevara.


Revolutionary thought and practice will bring us art in all forms we can't even imagine under the current capitalist system.

Also I believe that Che predicted the death of culture and the rise of cultural homogenization and assimilation under the hand of capitalism.

Arguably alluding to what (of course not predicting, but his argument could be applied to) AI and heavily commodified shareholder owned and controlled "art" is doing now in 2026:

"In culture, capitalism has given all that it had to give and all that remains of it is the foretaste of a bad-smelling corpse; in art, its present decadence. But why endeavour to seek in the frozen forms of socialist realism the only valid recipe? "freedom" cannot be set against socialist realism because the former does not yet exists; it will not come into being until the complete development of the new society."-Che Guevara

To be an artist is not in itself revolutionary always. But to be revolutionary is indeed, to be an artist.

And in my opinion, artists should continue to push revolutionary thought in their creations outside of the clutches of the capitalist vice grip.

And of course the famous quote:

"Let me say, with the risk of appearing ridiculous, that the true revolutionary is guided by strong feelings of love. It is impossible to think of an authentic revolutionary without this quality"-Che Guevara

We (socialists) do this all out of radical optimism, radical love, and the notion that the world we are building is being built out of and for love, even if those building this world may never see the fruits of the seeds we are planting.

Definitely gonna read through this one again.

Che Forever.

[❀ leila]

would definitely like to revisit this when i’m not on a time crunch but an incredibly insightful read.


“Then came the stage of guerrilla struggle. It developed in two distinct environments: the people, the still sleeping mass that had to be mobilized; and its vanguard, the guerrillas, the motor force of the mobilization, the generator of revolutionary consciousness and militant enthusiasm. This vanguard was the catalyzing agent that created the subjective conditions necessary for victory.”

“The amount of poverty and suffering required for a Rockefeller to emerge, and the amount of depravity entailed in the accumulation of a fortune of such magnitude, are left out of the picture, and it is not always possible for the popular forces to expose this clearly.”

“In our zeal as revolutionaries we try to move ahead as fast as possible, clearing the way. But we know we must draw our nourishment from the mass and that it can advance more rapidly only if we inspire it by our example.”

“There is still a need to undergo a complete spiritual rebirth in one's attitude toward one's own work, freed from the direct pressure of the social environment, though linked to it by new habits.”

“Those who play by the rules of the game are showered with honors — such honors as a monkey might get for performing pirouettes. The condition is that one does not try to escape from the invisible cage.”

“The present is a time of struggle; the future is ours.”

“At the risk of seeming ridiculous, let me say that the true revolutionary is guided by great feelings of love.” ‼️‼️‼️‼️

[Khazziro]

good short book with Che's "Socialism and man in Cuba" and Fidel Castro's "Che’s ideas are absolutely relevant today".

Che inspired billions of people and will inspire even more, imperialism will be defeated in my lifetime comrades and I'm glad I'll be able to talk about this with my dear ones.

homeland or death comrades.
venceremos!

Also, this part from Castro's speech... 🔥
When they hid Che’s body, they showed their weakness and their cowardice, because they also showed their fear of the example and the symbol. They did not want the exploited peasants, the workers, the students, the intellectuals, the democrats, the progressives or the patriots of this hemisphere to have a place to go to pay tribute to Che’s remains. And in the world today, in which there is no specific place to go to pay tribute to Che’s remains, tribute is paid to everywhere.

Today tribute is not paid to Che once a year, not once ever five, ten, fifteen, or twenty years; today homage is paid to Che every year every month, every day, everywhere, in a factory, in a school, in a military barracks, in a home, among children, among Pioneers.

[Suz]

I never thought that reading a political pamphlet would make me tear up, but it did. How can you not, when thoughts you've had for years are articulated so beautifully, in the voice of someone who sacrificed their all for their ideals?

It is not a matter of how many kilograms of meat one has to eat, or of how many times a year someone can go to the beach, or how many pretty things from abroad you might be able to buy with present-day wages. It is a matter of making the individual feel more complete, with much more inner wealth and much more responsibility.

...

At the risk of seeming ridiculous, let me say that the true revolutionary is guided by great feelings of love. It is impossible to think of a genuine revolutionary lacking this quality.

...

We socialists are freer because we are more fulfilled; we are more fulfilled because we are freer.
The skeleton of our complete freedom is already formed. The flesh and the clothing are lacking; we will create them.

[David D]

Finally getting to read and physically own Che’s legendary speech from his time in Algiers is a privilege. In this now famous letter to his friend, Che talks about the dismantling of old consciousness and building a new one through integrity, education, and freedom. He gives many beautiful insights of his mind and his adoration of the masses of the world and his vision of a long term future in which dogmatism and materialism is rejected, and that in its place comes education and camaraderie. Following this letter is a speech from Fidel Castro on the 20th anniversary of Che’s death, in which Fidel utilizes the thought of Che into outlining his idyllic future of Cuba. “The true revolutionary is guided by a great feeling of love. It is impossible to think of a genuine revolutionary lacking this quality.”

[Benjamin]

Good read; very short. Essentially Che's thesis is that after a socialist revolution, the transformation of the economic mode of production is not enough; that each prolaterian must also also change the way the see themselves and the role they play both in production and in greater society, placing greater emphasis on the collective and overall good of the society instead of the old bourgeois mentality of individualism. I couldn't help to think of the similarities between Che's words in this text and the Maoist conception of the cultural revolution, in which the transformation of the mode of production (the base) alone is not enough; that it must be accompanied by a revolution of the remnants of the bourgeois superstructure, from its cultural institutions to analysis of social relations.

[Allyse Freeman]

"The laws of capitalism, which are blind and are invisible to ordinary people, act upon the individual without he or she being aware of it. One sees only the vastness of a seemingly infinite horizon ahead. That is how it is painted by capitalist propagandists who purport to draw a lesson from the example of Rockefeller–whether or not is is true–about the possibilities of success. The amount of poverty and suffering required for a Rockefeller to emerge, and the amount of depravity entailed in the accumulation of a fortune of such magnitude, are left out of the picture, and it is not always possible for the popular forces to expose this clearly."