I Want to Believe

Posadism, UFOs and Apocalypse Communism

AvA.M. Gittlitz

Inbunden, Engelska, 2020

907 kr

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Beskrivning

Advocating nuclear war, attempting communication with dolphins and taking an interest in the paranormal and UFOs, there is perhaps no greater (or stranger) cautionary tale for the Left than that of Posadism.Named after the Argentine Trotskyist J. Posadas, the movement's journey through the fractious and sectarian world of mid-20th century revolutionary socialism was unique. Although at times significant, Posadas' movement was ultimately a failure. As it disintegrated, it increasingly grew to resemble a bizarre cult, detached from the working class it sought to liberate. The renewed interest in Posadism today - especially for its more outlandish fixations - speaks to both a cynicism towards the past and nostalgia for the earnest belief that a better world is possible.Drawing on considerable archival research, and numerous interviews with ex- and current Posadists, I Want to Believe tells the fascinating story of this most unusual socialist movement and considers why it continues to capture the imaginations of leftists today.

Produktinformation

Utgivningsdatum:2020-04-20
Mått:135 x 215 x 19 mm
Vikt:495 g
Format:Inbunden
Språk:Engelska
Antal sidor:272
Förlag:Pluto Press
ISBN:9780745340760

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Mer om författaren

A.M. Gittlitz is a journalist and social critic based in Brooklyn, New York. He has contributed to The New Inquiry, The New York Times, The Outline, Baffler, Real Life, Salon, and Vice.

Recensioner i media

'Under the grim pressures of 20th century history, and now climate change, Gittlitz shows how explosions of black political humour also contain utopian hopes very necessary to keep alive. As an advocate of Partially Automated Adequate Socialism I can only agree, and applaud this fine addition to leftist history'

Innehållsförteckning

List of IllustrationsList of Abbreviations AcknowledgementsIntroductionPART I: THE TRAGIC CENTURY1. Commentaries on the Infancy of Comrade Posadas 2. Revolutionary Youth or Patriotic Youth? 3. The Death Throes of Capitalism 4. The Origins of Posadism 5. Where are we Going? PART II: THE POSADIST FOURTH INTERNATIONAL6. The Flying International 7. The Role of Anti-Imperialist and Revolutionary Militants, the Role of Trotskyists, the Program, and Tasks During and After the Atomic War 8. The Macabre Farce of the Supposed Death of Guevara 9. Flying Saucers, the Process of Matter and Energy, Science, the Revolutionary and Working-Class Struggle, and the Socialist Future of Mankind 10. The Accident 11. Hombrecitos 12. Volver 13. What Exists Cannot Be True 14. Arrival of Comrade Homerita to the House PART III: NEO-POSADISM15. Historical Sincerity 16. Why Don’t Extraterrestrials Make Public Contact? 17. UFOs to the People 18. On the Function of the Joke and Irony in History Timeline Notes Index