Utopia and the Dialectic in Latin American Liberation
Haymarket Books, 2017, 442 pp.
$27.95 + $4 postage
This companion volume to Toward a Dialectic of Philosophy and Organization begins by examining the concept of utopia in Latin American thought, particularly its roots within indigenous emancipatory practice, and suggests that within this concept can be found a resonance with the dialectic of negativity that Hegel developed following the French Revolution. With this theoretical-philosophical exploration, the study combines the liberation practices of social movements in recent Latin American history. The book includes chapters and sections by several Latin American activist-thinkers.
“The key question driving Utopia and the Dialectic in Latin American Liberation is this: are there living threads which connect a concept of utopia found in many of today’s Latin American movements and the dialectic as found in Hegel, created anew in Marx, and by others? In Parts 1 and 2 of the volume, Eugene Gogol approaches this question directly: first, he unveils certain concepts of dialectical thought … that can aid us in grasping the dialectic in Hegel as in life; second, he looks for strands of the dialectic as they emerge from within Latin America itself. The result is impressive. In clear and unhurried prose, Gogol offers an erudite exploration of some complex theoretical ground, and then deftly applies it to a few instances of popular rebellion in the region.” Eduardo Frajman