Che Guevara and Contemporary Revolutionary Movements

Abstract

To discuss the relevance of Che Guevara's thought and practice today, it is important to distinguish his revolutionary political ideas from their particular tactical application in the form of or rural guerrilla warfare. This distinction is important because in the first instance Che was a revolutionary theorist even when he was engaged in armed combat. It is also useful for analyzing the different levels of his thought and practice. His writings include a general analysis of the class structure, the role of imperialism, political alliances, historical experiences, and the correlation of forces on the international, regional, and national level. His revolutionary thought and practice combined a critical analysis of imperialism and capitalism with active involvement in and reflections on the construction of socialism, and he conceived of socialism as part of a new world order. While the imperialist countries organized on a world scale to destroy each revolution, revolutionaries sought to extend each national revolution internationally. Che's general analysis of capitalism, imperialism, and socialism and his specific tactical position on guerrilla warfare were linked to his views of ethics and political practice. His thought was concerned with the relation of revolutionary organizations to oppressed people, the relation between political agency and objective conditions, the interrelation between revolution and imperialism, and the relation between personal values and revolutionary action. I would argue that Che's relevance to contemporary revolutionary politics is found in his general analysis of politics and his reflections on political action and economic structures rather than the tactical ideas he applied to specific conjunctural circumstances. To conflate these three levels of Che's revolutionary praxis or to reduce his thoughts to his tactical discussion of guerrilla or armed struggle is to misconstrue and diminish their significance today. From Che's general analysis and political reflections one can derive a variety of social and political strategies and tactics and a variety of organiza-