Liberation vs Revolution Ideologies of Socialism - Assignment Example

Understanding Liberation and Revolution: Guevara and G. Gustavo Prajakta Kanegaonkar The most prominent outcome of industrial revolution will be the two isms that divided the world into two poles. The ideological clash led to the most destructive wars and changed the geopolitical references and map of the world. Capitalism ruled the world through various means and ways. To challenge capitalism socialism came into existence, which also took different forms like democratic socialism and Marxist socialism. Marxism today is considered to be the extreme form of socialism. However we have to consider the effects of this ideology in various revolutions that took place in the Latin American countries. Thinkers of Central America added their own thoughts to the process of socialism and in return borrowed from it as well. We are going to compare the thoughts and ideologies expressed by two prominent thinkers such as Che Guevara and G. Gustavo. Both of them belong to different period’s altogether. One led the Cuban revolution to success with his famous guerilla war tactics while the other works with the church for the poor as service to the God. We have to understand the context of Marxism as well when we try and understand the philosophy expressed by these two. Let us define the word ‘Liberation’. Liberation in terms of a society overthrowing its existing rule would be called as revolution while when we talk about liberation from poverty or oppression, the meaning goes near emancipation. When we consider these two thinkers then we know both the perspectives of the definition of liberation. Liberation theology, a term first used in 1973 by Gustavo Gutierrez, a Peruvian Roman Catholic priest, is a school of thought among Latin American Catholics according to which the Gospel of Christ demands that the church concentrate its efforts on liberating the people of the world from poverty and oppression. (http://mb-soft.com/believe/txn/liberati.htm) While Che Guevara states his views on revolution as: The fundamental strategic objective of the revolution at that time was achieved on January 1 with the destruction of the dictatorship that for almost seven years had brutalized the Cuban people. But our revolution, which is a conscious revolution, knows that political sovereignty is closely linked to economic sovereignty. (Guevara Reader pg: 32) Even when we see two different approaches of looking at the revolution or liberation we can see that the basic thinking is the same. It is freeing people from the clutches of oppression and poverty. Roman Catholic leaders have repeatedly expressed their views against the political systems which lead the poor into becoming poorer. However they have preferred to abstain from direct politics. Creating monopolies is something even Guevara has lashed at. The monopolies do not necessarily mean monarchical tendencies of the ruler. These if we look into from Marxist terminology, are defined as capitalist economies or powers which oppress or dominate the economies of the surrounding countries. Today there are kings without crowns; they are the monopolies, the true masters of entire nations and at times of entire continents. That has been the case until now on the African continent and a good part of the Asian continent and unfortunately on our Latin American continent as well. (Guevara Reader pg: 28) When monopolies of these kinds rule, then the subjects are left with no choice than to revolt or overthrow the rule. It was the same in Cuba. Revolution is a simple basic idea first, almost an impossible one. This idea starts taking roots in the minds of the people around. The vision that is seen by the leaders becomes the vision of the masses to follow. Liberation doesn’t mean gaining political freedom alone. The term sovereignty should be used in the perspective of sovereignty of the people than merely changing the rule. “Liberation from what?” is the question every revolutionary needs to answer. For achieving the objective of freedom one needs to free the mind first. Rightfully all the liberations start with liberation from ideologies that have proven to be an excess and unnecessary baggage. In words of Guevara, The masses not only know the possibility of triumph, they know their destiny. They know with increasing certainty that whatever the tribulations of history during short periods, the future belongs to the people; the future will bring about social justice. This knowledge will help raise revolutionary ferment to even greater heights than those prevailing in Latin America today. (Guevara Reader pg: 52) G. Gustavo seeks liberation of masses from oppression and poverty. If theologians are meant to bring about the transformation of the society then the role is clearly defined in the liberation theology. The similarity with Marxism in this case is that both the ideologies condemn religion for supporting the political factors which were and are instrumental for the inequality and injustice in the society. Liberation theology believes that the God exists in the form poor in the society. They have created a special place for poor in the branch they have established. “The poor man, the other, reveals the totally Other to us" (Gutierrez). Liberation or revolution is an ongoing process for the society. For a while it a while it be termed as a ‘goal’ to be achieved, but the status changes as soon as it is achieved. The process of liberation doesn’t stop. In the extreme cases of revolution as well, the process changes its form and name and continues to bring about the changes which are necessary. Thinkers like Guevara acknowledge that revolution doesn’t end with achieving of political sovereignty. Political freedom needs to be translated into economic freedom for the society. Economic freedom should get the desired result of social justice and equality. Destruction of monopolies alone will not suffice the purpose but it has to create an economic system which will be congenial to the growth of the society in a healthy way. This is the basic theory of utopian society described in Marxism. However as it happens with most ideologies, even this one comes with its own vices. Guevara strongly disagrees with the capitalist argument that in socialism an individual gets abolished for the sake of the state. He puts across the contribution of masses in the Cuban revolution. He doesn’t claim that the state is invincible and cannot make mistakes. In his words, The state sometimes makes mistakes. When one of these mistakes occurs, one notes a decline in collective enthusiasm due to the effect of a quantitative diminution in each of the elements that make up the mass. Work is paralyzed until it is reduced to an insignificant level. It is time to make a correction. A more structured connection with the mass is needed, and we must improve it in the course of the coming years. But as far as initiatives originating in the upper strata of the government are concerned, we are currently utilizing the almost intuitive method of sounding out general reactions to the great problems we confront. (Guevara Reader pg: 63) The ties with the masses need to be strengthened by the ruler to make the government more participative. It also in turn makes the government put more efforts for the betterment of the society. The economic reforms which need to be established post revolution are not haphazard reforms. Sustained economic reforms require cooperation, patience and understanding from the people. Cuba followed the Soviet Russia’s pattern of socialism and drew great support from the former USSR. Guevara has even justified adoption of socialism on several occasions and his sustained belief that Marxist socialism will help the newly formed Cuban government the much sought after liberation or emancipation of masses. Hence liberation becomes a process of inventing and reinventing the means through which the liberation of the masses can occur. This can occur through the trust of masses on the system that is created and in return system working for the benefit of the masses, to establish social equality, justice and eradication of poverty. Liberation theology believes that God does not stand on the border of the humanity. Church is no longer an outside identity which will abstain itself from the society surrounding it. In words of G. Gustavo, "A theology of the Church in the world should be complemented by a theology of the world in the Church" Salvation comes through the serving of the poor and needy of the society. Liberation theology thinks of Jesus as the one who led the way to God. His life represents his unconditional love for the people around and his cross symbolizes the suffering of the poor. Liberation theology considers that God reveals himself to the poor and oppressed. Hence G. Gustavo states, “Real Christian love is founded on commitment to a more just society and action to bring it about.”  [G. Gutierrez, (1973). A Theology of Liberation: History, Politics, and Salvation, pg. 278] In such case liberation in this theology or branch of Christianity, is an ongoing process. Working for the society doesn’t stop for the person of the church who truly believes that salvation or emancipation comes through working for the poor, oppressed and needs of the society. No social structure is perfect and hence every structure would create injustice and inequality in the society. Accepting the same as the path that leads to the God needs a very solid courage which is a prominent feature of liberation theology. We have seen that both the theories draw heavily from Marxism. However socialism is not free from criticism and has its own problems. Guevara knows that it is not easy to keep the faith of the people in establishing new system. He asks them to maintain the discipline in order to systematize the functioning of the government. Among those factors we should point to and point to as very important is discipline. When the structure of the old society was torn down, the worker felt freed from serious burdens that weighed upon him. Many thought that reaching this new stage of society automatically meant being free from responsibilities and acquiring only rights. That is precisely the reflection of the old society in the consciousness of men who are building a new society. (Guevara new culture of work pg: 4) Any revolutionary would agree that maintaining the pace of the revolution is not an easy task. It is not only about maintaining the faith on the principles of revolution but also sustaining the expectation by delivering the dreams that were promised. This cannot be achieved by the government single handedly. It requires active cooperation from the masses. Progress and development of any society comes with the active participation and faith of the people within. Guevara acknowledges the flaws of Cuban government. He states his views clearly, Enthusiasm, discipline, the spirit of self-sacrifice, working as hard as possible – none of these things will result in great outcome if there is not also the necessary technical knowledge. Technical knowledge then together with constant training on all levels to obtain it should also be a daily concern of the working class. (Guevara new culture of working pg: 6) Liberation theology is appreciated for its strong pro poor stand. Identifying and commenting on the societal structure through Marxism is a criticism, often hurled at Liberation theology. It has also received the flak for politicizing the religion. This is highly ironical and paradoxical. Liberation theology established itself as an off shoot of the religion because it thought that religion otherwise supported the political system which oppressed the poor and masses of the society. Taking help of Marxism it identified the course of action it was supposed to take for salvation and reaching to the God. This would be highly incongruent to understand. Both Liberation theology and Cuban revolution stem from their belief in Marxism. However the stark point of contrast in both the theories comes from the methods of achieving the social equality. Although both share the compassion for the poor as its basis, Guevara’s method of achieving the freedom and liberation was through military and war. Gutierrez Gustavo proposes liberation theology as an offshoot of Christianity which thrives to achieve the salvation through the service of the poor. First established a socialist or a Marxist society through revolution while the other used Marxism as a tool and defined class struggle in the society and the world. Cuban revolution although a significant event in the history stands almost nullified with the disintegration of Soviet Russia. Cuba is surrounded by capitalist countries and globalize economies, wherein standing out isolated with its own principles is costing its own development and sustenance of economy. Serving poor and oppressed is the basis of liberation theology but if the theory goes farfetched then it threatens to politicize the theory more than the religious base of it. Also it cannot be ignored that the concepts of sins and alienation or going away from the god has nothing to do with the class differences of the society. This fear is alike and universal. One need to however acknowledge one common point in both the theories that stands out absolutely great and is timeless. The need to stand for the poor, the needy and the oppressed is definitely heroic. It is always true that revolutions are born only when the need of wiping the tears from eyes of the oppressed is considered to be the greatest service to the mankind. References: 1. http://mb-soft.com/believe/txn/liberati.htm 2. http://refspace.com/quotes/Man_and_Socialism_in_Cuba 3. http://laurenrmoore.blogspot.com/2007/10/gustavo-gutirrez-on-faith-community-and.html 4. http://www.socinian.org/liberty.html 5. http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0346466/bio. 6. Nature of Work – Che Guevara 7. Guevara Reader Read More