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Building Socialist Consciousness
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- Are Che’s Ideas Feasible
Building Socialist ConsciousnessMost arguments against socialism begin with the assumption that “capitalism is human nature,” that humans are inherently greedy and that the best way for society to function is in a way which reflects these realities. The experience of revolutionaries attempting to build socialism after a revolution, in fact, often validates these assumptions: They find that workers still respond to the promise of material rewards, or the threat of material depravation, more readily than appeals to community responsibility. Che Guevara took these realities head-on. From the beginning, he admitted that building socialism was a moral and psychological project as much as it was a technical or economic one. In fact, he argued that the moral case for socialism was a necessary prerequisite to any kind of genuine structural changes. True, the structures had to be in place, but without a new understanding of community, workers and citizens would not understand the potential benefits of working together to create an economy based on human needs rather than profits. Because of this, he argued that a “new person” must be the ultimate objective of revolutions. This position represents a slightly unorthodox modification of traditional Marxism. Marx and Engels were dialectical materialists; dialectical materialism holds, among other things, that human consciousness, the world of ideas and theories, is ultimately secondary to the material arrangements of society. As long as the material base of society is “capitalist,” in that it primarily features private and competitive ownership of the means of production, the social relations of human cons3iousness will also be individualist and competitive. But they reasoned that once the working class overthrew capitalism and established public, common ownership, then consciousness would follow suit, meaning that over time people would become more cooperative and work for the benefit of society naturally. Che did not disagree with dialectical materialism; he simply argued that the moral or psychological transition would have to be explicit. And he saw no contradiction with orthodox Marxism in this belief, since the consciousness which called for the mindset shift itself was obviously a product of socialist revolutions opening up on the historical horizon. In other words, he was neither violating the Marxist laws of history, nor placing “the cart before the horse” by emphasizing the moral component of socialism. He was simply emphasizing it in response to the specific material conditions faced by his people: They had, after all, lived under several generations of capitalism. Socialism had to be made to work quickly in Cuba, since the potential for a counter-revolution was high given the relative proximity of Cuba to the United States, and the large number of Cubans who, having had their wealth confiscated by the Revolution, had moved to the U.S. to wait for the chance to get it back. Thus, Che emphasized that people needed to be taught a basic bargain they were making with the Cuban state: The community will provide you with the means to meet your needs. We will educate you, provide food, shelter and leisure, and protect you from exploitation, racism and counter-revolution. In return, we ask that you fulfill your social duty and work as hard as you can, since the work you are doing will benefit you and all other Cubans. Although this moral argument was made pragmatically in me face of real material challenges, several general philosophical arguments emerge from it. First, humans are not fixed and immutable, regardless of how selfish or greedy we appear to be. Over time, and given the right conditions and leadership, a new consciousness can emerge which emphasizes the more cooperative and self-sacrificing sides of human nature. These tendencies must be cultivated in response to the temptations to be ruthless or selfish when times become difficult. Second, in order for this consciousness to become a political reality, we must, at every opportunity, erase the distinctions between “leaders” and “followers.” Under capitalism, those who do “mental” labor are treated better than those who do “physical” labor. Che Guevara argued that all humans can benefit from an equal dose of both types of labor; through such voluntary work, through worker-managed workplaces, and through encouraging elected and appointed leaders themselves to participate in manual labor, the distinction between mental and physical work will vanish, and with it the divisions between the governors and the masses. The third philosophical concept implicit in Che Guevara’s vision of change is that rational planning of society is both feasible and necessary. Supporters of capitalism call for allowing “the market” to govern production and distribution. But Che saw such arguments as mystification’s; that is, to point to some metaphysical concept called “the market” was to remove the basic relationship between humans and their world, and between fellow humans themselves. He argued that when capitalists say “the market is good” or “the market is bad,” they are masking the truth Marx himself pointed out in ~a~1IaI: That reality consists of human material interaction in the most basic sense, good treatment or ill treatment. Che believed that society could be rationally and democratically planned to reflect what humans wanted, not what the so-called “market” wanted. Che believed that revolutionaries who ignored these philosophical truths were doomed to failure. Many was the revolution, he wrote, that failed because its adherents believed material changes were sufficient, or that the people could be made into socialists at the point of a gun or through some mystical brainwashing techniques. What was needed was genuine education in the practices of economic democracy and self-management. Without these things, humans would always revert back to their previous historical selves--capitalistic, individualist, hostile and indifferent. Are Che’s Ideas Feasible?Very little has been written specifically against the ideas of Che Guevara. One might suppose the indifference reflects the general Western ignorance of Third World thinkers and leaders, and one might also wonder if pro-capitalist writers have bothered to read Che at all. But the same questions which haunt the theory of socialism in general can be applied to Che’s ideas specifically. To begin with, is it really possible to “educate” people away from capitalism? Capitalists don’t think so, and looking at Cuban society today, many might agree they have a point: Cubans are increasingly turning to an underground economy, or leaving Cuba altogether, or calling for the overthrow of Castro’s socialist regime. But, ironically, defenders of Che Guevara say the problems in Cuba actually result from a turning away from Che’s plans and suggestions since his untimely death. After Che left Cuba, many governmental officials, relieved that their comrade would no longer be bothering them about the seemingly reasonable privileges they acquired, began collecting those privileges in droves. The idea of self-management was rejected in favor of dependence upon the now-dead Soviet Union. Volunteerism, self-management and community leadership gave way to a Stalinist despotism far more destructive to Cuban society than the loud voices and occasional sabotage of anti-Castro Cubans in Miami. Today, economists and activists who visit Cuba say that many of Che’s ideas have been resurrected by the considerable number of still-faithful socialists on the island. This, combined with some limited economic liberalization, has resulted in increased growth and decreased crime. Ultimately, the philosophical battle between capitalism and socialism is still being played out on the world stage, although the spotlight is now on Cuba alone. 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