Utopia and the Dialectic in Latin American Liberation

Utopia and the Dialectic in Latin American Liberation begins by examining the concept of utopia in Latin American thought, particularly its roots within indigenous emancipatory practice, and suggests that within this concept of utopia can be found a resonance with the dialectic of negativity that Hegel developed under the impact of the French Revolution, further developed by such thinker-activists as Marx, Lenin and Raya Dunayevskaya. From this theoretical-philosophical plane, the study moves to the liberation practices of social movements in recent Latin American history. Movements such as the Zapatistas in Mexico, Indigenous feminism throughout the Americas, and Indigenous struggles in Bolivia and Colombia, are among those taken up--most often in the words of the participants. The study concludes by discussing a dialectic of philosophy and organization in the context of Latin American liberation.

Review:

The key question driving Utopia and the Dialectic in Latin American Liberation is this: '[a]re there living threads which connect a concept of utopia found in many of today's Latin American movements and the dialectic as found in Hegel, created anew in Marx, and by others?' (4). In Parts 1 and 2 of the volume, Eugene Gogol approaches this question directly: first, he unveils 'certain concepts of dialectical thought [...] that can aid us in grasping the dialectic in Hegel as in life' (28); second, he looks for 'strands of the dialectic as they emerge from within Latin America itself' (4). The result is impressive. In clear and unhurried prose, Gogol offers an erudite exploration of some complex theoretical ground, and then deftly applies it to a few instances of popular rebellion in the region. Eduardo Frajman, Marx PHIlosoph, 27 July 2016