Born from the Earth

Mariátegui and the Peruvian Dream of Socialism

José Carlos Mariátegui is a socialist, a child of the Andes¹, a man that developed marxism with soil under his hands and the history of his people in his heart. As he writes in the article "Aniversario y balance" (1928), his understanding of socialism is not only an economical idea, but also a moral one, a "heroic act of creation“, that is born from the depths of the soul. He believes that a new world can emerge in the hearts of humans who learn again to live with each other. "Socialism seeks not only to liberate people, but also to reconcile them with their own nature." For him this reconciliation was the true sense of the revolution. Not the power, not possession, but sociality and connection. A thinker that refrained from orthodox marxism to find creative answers to the reality of Latin America. With paper, pen, education, communality, organisation and dialogue. With socialism.

José Carlos Mariátegui in 1929

Peru, to remember the Andes

Peru’s history is marked by colonial conquest; in 1532, the Spanish under Francisco Pizarro arrived and subjugated the Inca Empire, plundering its treasures and establishing a system of land ownership and forced labor. The indigenous peoples were deprived of their resources, their culture, and their political autonomy. In the 1920s, when José Carlos Mariátegui developed his Marxist ideas, Peru was officially independent but still heavily influenced by colonialism economically. Railroads, large mines, and estates were mostly owned by British or US companies. Raw materials such as copper, silver, cotton, and sugar were exported; dependence was imported. The country’s wealth flowed abroad, controlled by foreign capital and a collaborating national bourgeoisie.

Large-scale landownership and so-called gamonalismo² was at the center of a system that economically exploited and politically excluded the indigenous population. For him, the land issue was at the core of the indigenous problem. More than seventy percent of the population, predominantly indigenous descendants of the Incas, worked on the haciendas³, often under conditions similar to those of the colonial era. A centralist state thus ignored the needs of rural regions. As a result, highly unequal property relations prevailed, leading to poverty and dependency, especially among the indigenous, peasant parts of society.

Mariátegui analyses the material and cutural reality of Peru in the collection "Siete Ensayos de Interpretación de la Realidad Peruana" (1928). He understood that the colonisation of Peru was not only material but also mental. The education and influences of the state consisted in an imitation of European and North American models. They were incapable to see the reality of the Andes, the Campesinos⁴, and the poor and to find solutions. This is why for Mariátegui the suffering of Peru was not just economical, but also ethical and cultural. The indigenous knowledge, culture and languages were considered „backward“. By the ruling and European-influenced elite they were deemed inferior and incapable to be the driving force for progress. Mariátegui instead saw in the indigenous communities the seeds of a new society. A socialist society that stems from life itself: Peruvian, human, creative and not an imitation of European ideals. As he put it: "We don’t want a socialism of imitation, but of creation.“

1st issue of the magazine Amauta, directed by Mariátegui

A Socialism of Creation

Mariátegui was convinced that socialism could not be imported into Peru. He said:

"We have to create our own socialism, inspired by the reality and the history of our country.“

This meant that Peru could not just follow along the lines of European models, but had to be born from life itself. Marxism had to be Peruvianized. Rooted in the social reality of the Andes, in the heritage of indigenous peoples, in the experience of colonialism and land grabbing. In the first essays of the collection "Ideologia y politica" (1980), Mariátegui analyses the role of indigenous communities in relation to socialism. He says that capitalism in Peru never worked as well as in Europe. It was not a result of internal developments but an import from colonial times with a Peruvian bourgeoisie that defended its privileges while clinging onto foreign capital. Therefore he concluded that in Peru only the workers and farmers, especially the indigenous communities could be the bearers of a true socialism. Not because they were a "class" in the European sense, but because they had kept a collective way of living alive. A way that is built on solidarity, collaborative work and shared responsiblity. For him, socialism in Peru was also a return. A reviving of social values that had existed for centuries in the culture of the Andes. Following him, socialism is the modern form of the old indigenous community, that colonialism had destroyed but never fully eliminated.

"The social revolution in Peru has to grow out of the indigenous communes."

That is why Mariátegui didn’t understand the revolution in Peru as a copy of the Russian or European experiences. He saw the revolution as a heroic creative act of fusion between marxism and the reality of the Andes. In 1928 he founded the Partido Socialista del Perú. He consciously chose the word "socialist", to avoid Stalinist control and to enhance the Latin American character. The party was clearly marxist-oriented, but in a non-dogmatic way. It was anticapitalist, anti-imperialist and saw the indigenous population as the central revolutionary subject. Its goal was the organised mass mobilisation of workers, Campesinos and indigenous people, not the revolution of small avant-garde groups. He did not believe in an immediate seizure of power or in a violent uprising at any cost. Revolution for him was a social process of building consciousness, organisation and restructuring. For he sought not only political change, but also moral renewal. He wanted humans to become part of a greater whole once again.

To find the future, Mariátegui looked to the Andes. There the Aylles lived, indigenous communities that organised since centuries with principles of collaboration and mutual help. In them he saw a living and practical example of socialism. There, in the simplicity of togetherness, he saw what Europe had forgotten. He saw a morality, which was not a sermon but a rhythm. A natural, organic ethic, birthed from living together, not from laws.

For him the Ayllus were exemplary for how people could live without private property and competition. This "natural moral" of the indigenous world was the true basis of socialism for him. He called it "an ethic of the earth". A lifestyle which keeps together work, sociality and nature. There he saw the difference between capitalist civilization and socialist humanity. Capitalism divides, socialism links. In History of the World Crisis, Mariátegui writes that the crisis of capitalism is not only economical but a crisis of civilisation itself. The modern world had lost its moral unity. He interprets the catastrophes of the West as a sign that humanity had lost its connection. The global crisis, he writes, is a crisis of morality, a world that had sold its soul to the machine. Where the human ceases to be part of the earth, he becomes its master and thereby loses it.

Mariátegui believed that socialism cannot emerge when people only think about material needs. He criticises the deterministic understanding of history of many marxists and the dogmatic import of European theories into non-European contexts. He wrote: "

Socialism is not just an economical phenomenon but a moral and emotional stance.“ For him, people are creative beings, capable of changing themselves and their world. In socialism he sees the possibility to free this creative energy. In the article "El hombre y el mito" (1925), he explores the importance of mythological thinking for humanity. He speaks about the Myth of Revolution: A myth is a force that interconnects people and gives them courage to attempt the impossible. Without myths there would be no movement, no passion, no hope.

"Humans are metaphysical beings. Without a metaphysical philosophy of life one cannot live fruitfully. The myth moves people in history."

The Woman and the Rebirth of the World

Mariátegui was one of the first marxist thinkers of Latin America that viewed the liberation of women as a central part of the social revolution. For him the woman question was closely tied to the revolutionary process as an essential part of the proletarian struggle. Because the patriarchal family to him is a reflection of capitalism: Possession, hierarchy, obedience. To overcome this, he claims, the woman's self-perception has to change, so that she can become an active subject that actively shapes society. This would not emerge out of abstract theories but from real life. From work, education and political engagement. Women that studied, taught in universities or worked in factories or on the fields were for him the heart of a true, vivid feminism. "In our times life in society cannot be explored without researching and analysing its foundation: The organisation inside the family, the role of the woman." he writes. About the arising feminist movement in Peru he said:

"Towards this movement, men that are open to the big emotions of our time can and should not feel estranged and indifferent. The question of women is a part of the question of humanity."

“Socialism,” according to Mariátegui, “must also understand and overcome the gender dimension of oppression, particularly in a semi-feudal, colonial-influenced country like Peru.” The women’s movement must operate in conjunction with the anti-imperialist, anti-colonial process and must not be reduced to the “Western” model of feminism. In the article "Las reivindicaciones feministas" (1924) he distinguishes between bourgeois, petty-bourgeois, and proletarian feminism. Since he views feminism that is detached from class struggle as ineffective and reactionary, he sees only proletarian feminism as capable of fundamentally transforming social structures. He analyses the woman solely in connection to class struggle, not as an autonomous political force and subject.

Even if he doesn’t offer a deeper analysis about the woman, he knows: a socialism that wants to be human must necessarily be female. For in femininity he sees the source of moral force. In many indigenous cultures earth itself is female, creative and nourishing.

Youth is not tomorrow, it is today

For Mariátegui, youth is the living energy of the present, not just a promise for the future. The force of actively acting and forming. In his own words:

"Youth is not the hope of tomorrow. It’s the action of today or nothing.“

In his work „El mito de la nueva generación“ he analyses the youth movements of his time and underlines the meaning of the youth as an active force for social change. Though he criticises the romanticised notion that every youth is automatically revolutionary and warns about the instrumentalisation of the youth’s enthusiasm for reactionary goals. It is the living bridge between vision and present, between the dreams of a more just society and the concrete actions that can realize them.

A heritage for the future

José Carlos Mariátegui died young, at the age of 35, after a grave illness. But in his philosophy he continues to live, especially today as many parts of the world are seeking direction. Mariátegui showed us that socialism is much more than a political project. In indigenous values, communality, respect, sharing and spirituality he saw the future. Not a return to the old world, but a rediscovery of its soul. A socialism that grows out of the earth of one’s own history.

Again today young people are taking to the streets. In Lima, Cusco, Ayacucho and Puno they demand justice, dignity and participation. They fight against corruption, neoliberal exploitation and the political alienation of a state that does not represent them. Many of them come from families of farmers, indigenous people and workers. In their lives Mariátegui once saw the seeds of a new Peru. They demand more than a reform. They demand another life. A life in which people do not only function but can actually live. Not isolated but connected. Not in the service of capital but in the service of people, of society. Here, at this time, Mariátegui comes back to life, as a voice that leads the way, coming from the depths of the own land, the earth, the memories and the struggles of the own people.

Revolution starts in the heart of the community: in the hands of the women, in the return to an ethical, ecological and communal way of living.

Notes

1 A vast mountain range stretching along the west coast of South America across several countries, including Peru. The Andes were the heartland of important indigenous cultures.

2 The dominance of large landowners (gamonales) in Peru’s rural regions, particularly in the Andes. This local elite exercised political, economic, and social control and, above all, exploited the indigenous population.

Mariátegui viewed gamonalism as a semi-feudal system that hindered the country’s development and fueled social inequality.

3 Large estates controlled by large landowners. They rely on the exploitation of indigenous labor.

4 Rural, mostly indigenous population of Peru