The Great Debate on Political Economy and Revolution

by Ernesto Che Guevara, David Deutschmann (Editor), Ernest Mandel (Contributor)

"This debate has a special place in the history of Marxist thought." Ernest Mandel, author of Marxist Economic Theory and Late Capitalism

In the post-Soviet era, what is the relevance of Marxist economics? In the early years following the 1959 Cuban revolution, Ernesto Che Guevara initiated an unprecedented and highly controversial debate on the economic challenges of the "transition to socialism."

Without making it explicit, the model Che proposed for Cuba was clearly counterposed to what existed in the Soviet Union and Eastern Europe, of which he was highly critical.

Internationally prominent Marxist economists such as Ernest Mandel and Charles Bettelheim participated in what became known as "The Great Debate." This historic debate is now published in English with recent commentaries by current day Marxist economists offering a unique resource for a new generation discussing alternatives to capitalism.

The publication of this book is particularly timely as Cuba today confronts an economic crisis and seeks to make dramatic changes to its economic system. This book adds an entirely new dimension to Che Guevara, beyond the young adventurer on a motorcycle or as a guerrilla icon, as a profound student of economic theory and practice.

Although trained as a doctor, Ernesto Che Guevara assumed two key posts after the 1959 revolution as Minister for Industry and President of the National Bank. In those roles he took primary responsibility to industrialize Cuba and transform its economy and immediately immersed himself in the study of political economy.

Genres: Nonfiction

350 pages, Paperback

First published August 1, 2005

About the author

Ernesto "Che" Guevara, commonly known as El Che or simply Che, was a Marxist revolutionary, physician, author, intellectual, guerrilla leader, diplomat, and military theorist. A major figure of the Cuban Revolution, since his death Guevara's stylized visage has become an ubiquitous countercultural symbol and global icon within popular culture.

His belief in the necessity of world revolution to advance the interests of the poor prompted his involvement in Guatemala's social reforms under President Jacobo Arbenz, whose eventual CIA-assisted overthrow solidified Guevara's radical ideology. Later, while living in Mexico City, he met Raúl and Fidel Castro, joined their movement, and travelled to Cuba with the intention of overthrowing the U.S.-backed Batista regime. Guevara soon rose to prominence among the insurgents, was promoted to second-in-command, and played a pivotal role in the successful two year guerrilla campaign that topled the Cuban government.

After serving in a number of key roles in the new government, Guevara left Cuba in 1965 to foment revolution abroad, first unsuccessfully in Congo-Kinshasa and later in Bolivia, where he was captured by CIA-assisted Bolivian forces and executed.

Guevara remains both a revered and reviled historical figure, polarized in the collective imagination in a multitude of biographies, memoirs, essays, documentaries, songs, and films. Time magazine named him one of the 100 most influential people of the 20th century, while an Alberto Korda photograph of him entitled "Guerrillero Heroico," was declared "the most famous photograph in the world" by the Maryland Institute of Art.