José Carlos Mariátegui

Agora

José Carlos Mariátegui

1894–1930

A first way ina deliberate simplification – the portrait says more

The oppression of Indigenous Peruvians is about land, and socialism in Latin America must grow from Andean communal traditions, not copy Europe.

Placement

Latin American & Caribbean Philosophy · Latin America & Caribbean · Politics & Law, Society & History

Peruvian Marxist: the “problem of the Indian” is the problem of land; Indo-American socialism must build on Andean communal traditions instead of copying Europe.

Key ideas

Indo-American socialism
The problem of the land
Myth and revolution

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Influence

Influenced by 5

Inca Garcilaso de la Vega

influenced by
Mariátegui called Garcilaso the first Peruvian, who nonetheless remained Spanish, making him the start of a Peruvian literature joining both heritages (Siete ensayos, 1928). J. C. Mariátegui, Siete ensayos de interpretación de la realidad peruana (1928), “El proceso de la literatura”
Evidence: AI draft
Inca Garcilaso de la Vega › 1539–1616
Karl Marx

influenced by
Mariátegui applied Marx’s method to Peru, treating the ‘problem of the Indian’ as a problem of land, not of race or education (Siete ensayos, 1928). J. C. Mariátegui, Siete ensayos de interpretación de la realidad peruana (1928), “El problema del indio”; Defensa del marxismo (1928–29)
Evidence: AI draft
Karl Marx › 1818–1883
Friedrich Nietzsche

influenced by
In the foreword to Seven Interpretive Essays on Peruvian Reality (1928) Mariátegui said his work followed Nietzsche’s wish for an author whose thoughts form a book spontaneously, not one bent on producing a book deliberately. J. C. Mariátegui, Siete ensayos de interpretación de la realidad peruana (1928), “Advertencia”
Evidence: AI draft
Friedrich Nietzsche › 1844–1900
Miguel de Unamuno

influenced by
Reviewing Unamuno’s The Agony of Christianity (1926), Mariátegui took up its reading of agony as struggle; this agonistic faith fed into his view of socialism as a living struggle rather than a settled doctrine. J. C. Mariátegui, “La agonía del cristianismo” (1926), in Signos y obras; M. de Unamuno, La agonía del cristianismo (written 1924, first published in French, 1925)
Evidence: AI draft
Miguel de Unamuno › 1864–1936
Benedetto Croce

influenced by
In Defence of Marxism (1928–29, ch. IV and VI) Mariátegui invoked Croce’s essays on historical materialism – the link between Hegel and Marx merely psychological, socialism grounded in a historical conception – against readings of Marxism as determinism and as a doctrine without ethics. J. C. Mariátegui, Defensa del marxismo (1928–29; book 1934), ch. IV “La filosofía moderna y el marxismo” and VI “Ética y socialismo”
Evidence: AI draft
Benedetto Croce › 1866–1952

Influenced 2

Gustavo Gutiérrez

influenced
Gutiérrez took up Mariátegui’s call for a socialism that is no mere borrowing but a heroic creation of its own, in his Latin American theology (Teología de la liberación, 1971). G. Gutiérrez, Teología de la liberación: Perspectivas (1971); J. C. Mariátegui, “Aniversario y balance”, Amauta 17 (1928)
Evidence: AI draft
Gustavo Gutiérrez › 1928–2024
Aníbal Quijano

influenced
Quijano introduced Mariátegui’s Siete ensayos (1979 edition) and built on his analysis of the colonial roots of Peruvian society for the coloniality of power. A. Quijano, prologue to J. C. Mariátegui, 7 ensayos de interpretación de la realidad peruana (Biblioteca Ayacucho, 1979); Reencuentro y debate: Una introducción a Mariátegui (1981)
Evidence: AI draft
Aníbal Quijano › 1928–2018

Criticism

Criticizes 1

Mohandas K. Gandhi

criticised
In The Contemporary Scene (1925) Mariátegui admired Gandhi’s moral force and his influence across Asia but judged his work more religious and moral than political: Gandhi was the apostle of a religious movement rather than the leader of India’s liberation, his rejection of the West and the machine taken from Ruskin and Tolstoy. J. C. Mariátegui, La escena contemporánea (1925), “Gandhi”
Evidence: AI draft
Mohandas K. Gandhi › 1869–1948

Works

1928Seven Interpretive Essays on Peruvian Reality
A Marxist analysis of Peru – economy, land, education, literature – in which the Indigenous question is the question of land.

Position

Mariátegui wanted a socialism for Latin America that would be neither imitation nor replica but “heroic creation”. In the Seven Essays he argued that the “problem of the Indian” is not racial, moral or educational but economic: it is rooted in the land system of large estates and local bosses (gamonalismo). Socialism in Peru could build on the communal traditions of the Andean ayllu. Influenced by Georges Sorel, he held that revolution needs a mobilising myth and faith, not scientific analysis alone. His independent line brought conflict with the Communist International and with Haya de la Torre’s APRA. Quijano, Gutiérrez and later decolonial thinkers drew heavily on him.

Life & context

José Carlos Mariátegui was born in Moquegua, Peru, in 1894 and grew up poor; with little schooling, he rose through journalism in Lima. From 1919 to 1923 he lived in Europe, mostly in Italy, where he turned to Marxism. Back in Peru he lost a leg in 1924, founded the journal Amauta in 1926 and the Peruvian Socialist Party in 1928. He died in Lima in 1930, aged thirty-five.