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Che Guevara - La Havane, Cuba 1963 Burri, Rene Buy this Art Print at AllPosters.com

Ernesto "Che" Guevara has undeniably been one of the most powerful icons of the past fourty years. The Argentine revolutionary has had his picture widely printed on shirts and posters and has become a symbol for the (often young) anarchist. Yet, how many of us really understand or know what "Che" stood for? Do we know what his philosophy was about? Very few of us have taken the time to understand the goals and principles of Guevara and what he fought for - to death. Che Guevara's fight It's in 1952, during a journey Ernesto made with his motorbike around South America, that he became harshly aware of the ravages of capitalism through the situation of the Native Americans. Influenced by the works of Jean-Paul Sartre, Pablo Neruda, Ciro Alegría and Karl Marx, Che Guevara devoted his life to fighting the "capitalist octopuses" to establish a socialist system that would be more fair to the people.

Guevera saw the need to overthrow the political and economical structures in South America, rejecting not only capitalism but also orthodox Soviet communism and Imperialism in any form.

More than political goals, Che Guevara's fight was motivated by a philosophy that would eradicate the alienation of the individuals and free people. Guevara denounced the propaganda of the capitalist state, which enslaves people and prevents them from struggling, and uses man as a mere commodity. Instead, Guevara wanted to establish socialism in order to give humanity its freedom back, with a system that would allow every individual to participate and have a concrete role in society, thus becoming more fulfilled.

The Philosophy of Che Guevara

While socialism today often appears as a watered down version of capitalism, Guevara's concept of socialism was a lot more radical.

First of all, it involved an active participation of all individuals and not only of a bourgeois state. Each individual was seen as a "basic factor" and "an unique being as well as a member of the community." Each being was considered a fighter for not only freedom but also for any change necessary to the society. This concept is intimately tied to Existentialist philosophy, for which the fulfillment of each person as conscious being is the priority and final goal. Guevara believed that man was the conscious actor of History and that only man had the power to accomplish changes.

Work is also seen as a source of frustration for the individuals, who create a product that they will soon no longer own, in exchange for a very small reward. In this situation, creation is not a source of fulfillment anymore but a mere step of a process the final goal of which is the profit of a third party, and the worker is only a commodity for whom working and producing has simply become a necessity.

Ernesto Guevara's priority was set on education, as the only way to give people the tools they need to understand the world around them and be able to fight efficiently against any form of injustice. Guevara believed in the need of a vanguard, a group of educated people who would teach the masses and free them through knowledge and culture - and eventually transmit this education to the youngest. In Man and Socialism in Cuba, Guevara wrote: "Society as a whole must become a huge school." He also believed that a technological and scientific education of all people was necessary.

Che Guevara also attached a lot of importance to the arts. He believed that arts had lost their initial purpose, which was to free man through spiritual creation. But capitalism gave birth to the art establishment, limiting the freedom of the artists and only rewarding those who follow established principles. Even artistic experimentation has its own limits imposed on, and as Ernesto explained: "(...) the idea of making art a weapon of denunciation and accusation is combatted." Artistic experimentation is seen as a pseudo-rebellion that often lacks real radical substance: "If the rules of the game are respected, all honours are obtained - the hours that might be granted to a pirouette-creating monkey. The condition is not attempting to escape from the invisible cage."

Guevara also rejected 19th and 20th century art. While 19th century art was considered capitalist, the decadent art of the 20th century was the proof of the malaise of society.

In order to fight the ravages caused by capitalism and organize a new system, Che Guevara advocated the action of not only the revolutionary vanguard, but also of each individual as a member of a society that struggles for common goals. Guevara wrote a lot about military theory (particularly in his book Guerrilla Warfare) but one mustn't forget that Che's concept of revolutionary action was coupled with a profound sense of humanity. To Ernesto Guevara, "the true revolutionary is guided by a great feeling of love." One cannot dissociate Guevara's military actions from his humanism, and even altruism, and its primary goal: the happiness of people. Che's action was also guided by a feeling of justice and a profound faith in man; to reach his goals, Che highlighted the necessity of creating a "new man," a "twenty-first century man," freed from his alienation, educated and ready to struggle every day for his liberty.

Authenticity is also a major condition to Guevara's battle. In Man and Socialism in Cuba, he explained: "(...) if it is not an authentic social movement (...), the movement will have the same life span as its promoter or until the rigors of capitalist society put an end to popular illusions."

Che Guevara - Hasta La Victoria Siempre Buy this Fabric Poster at AllPosters.com

Preoccupied with the human condition, Guevara explained that the ultimate revolutionary aspiration was to free man from alienation and his most important goal to educate the people. Revolutionary, humanist and extremely charismatic, Ernesto "Che" Guevara surely appeared as dangerous to many political leaders of the time, and still today, no one knows for sure who was behind his execution, in 1967. Two sides have particularly been designated as possible culprits: the CIA and Fidel Castro, who could have both felt threatened by the growing influence and determination of the revolutionary. Authentic to the extreme, Guevara dedicated his life, his existence to the cause he believed in, even if it implied sacrifices: "Our sacrifice is a conscious one; it is in payment for the freedom we are building." Today, "Che" has become a popular symbol while his image is too often dissociated from the philosophy that built it. Che Guevara remains, to many, a modern time hero, whose struggle and devotion made him one of the greatest revolutionary figures of all times. Maybe this incredible popularity is due to the humanist, sincere personality of a man who never stepped back, never sold out and fought passionately, to death ("Patria o muerte"). Maybe it is also due to the fact that, in today's world, many people feel that his fight is still necessary. ¡Hasta siempre, Comandante!

Copyright © 2004 by Sabrina Laurent. May not be reproduced or used without permission of the author.
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