Magdalen
28th March 2009, 23:40
Che Guevara: The Economics of Revolution - Helen Yaffe
Friends in Britain have sent me an copy of this book before its US release. Helen Yaffe has given us a wonderful and timely present in this superb book. This is a well written, thorough study of the work and thought of the ‘Unknown Che’ – the Che who worked tirelessly behind the scenes in the early years of the revolution, leading the struggle to consolidate the Cuban economy and defend it from the sabotage, disruption and destruction created by imperialism. It is based on dozens of interviews with Che’s deputies, collaborators and subordinates, on previously confidential documents and on a wide range of primary and secondary materials difficult to find outside Cuba.
This could have been a dull dense boring scholarly tract; instead it is a lively, dense, exciting adventure through the early years of the Cuban revolution. We witness the incredible creativity and sacrifice of Cuban workers to free themselves from the grip of imperialism. We eavesdrop on the discussions on the Law of Value led by Che – the ‘Great Debate’. We discover Che’s innermost thoughts about socialist transition as he reads and annotates the Soviet Manual of Political Economy. We watch the development and implementation of the Budgetary Finance System, in opposition to the soviet Auto-Financing System. We learn about the extraordinary steps taken to replace the skilled professionals and technicians who fled to the USA rather than support their country, about the preparation to deploy the most advanced scientific and technological techniques in the service of the Cuban revolution. It seems almost impossible to exhaust the range of activities that Che left his mark on and little in the economic sphere that Che left untouched.
It is a stimulating book – I found myself reaching for Lenin’s writings on the economic transition thinking, ‘isn’t that what Lenin meant when …?’ and rereading parts of Capital. But this is not a book for the armchair commissars of academic Marxism. ‘Analysts had interpreted Cuba’s economic stagnation in various ways; the point, however, was to change it’ (p31). Yaffe brings the Cuban workers struggle to change the economy vividly to life with illuminating examples and with her interviewees’ reminiscences. This is a serious book, not a light read and is for those prepared to put some effort into really understanding what was happening in the early years of the revolution. They will be paid back tenfold.
In future it will be quite impossible to conduct an intelligent discussion about Che Guevara, about the early years of the Cuban revolution or about the transition to socialism in underdeveloped countries without having read Che Guevara – the Economics of Revolution. Run, do not walk to get your hands on a copy of this book; study it, do not just read it; above all, enjoy it and learn from it.
Steve Palmer, USA
Traditionally, popular biographies of Che Guevara have tended to concentrate on him as rebel commander and armed internationalist alone, upon the military aspect of his commitment to socialism, whether in Cuba 1956-58, Congo 1965, or Bolivia 1966-67. Descriptions of his work as a member of the revolutionary government between 1959 and 1965 have often been buried under a few anecdotes and selective quotations.
Helen Yaffe's book changes this, and finally rescues the history of his work as President of the National Bank and Minister of Industries. It discusses Che's creation of the Budgetary Finance System, which, despite its rather dry title, was anything but dry. The BFS sought to develop fuller workers self-management in Cuba, and brought about the notion of revolutionary consciousness, largely ignored in the rest of the Socialist Bloc, as a management tool. It also examines Guevara's correct belief that, without massive rejuvenation, the Soviet Union would eventually collapse and return to capitalism. This work is particularly valuable as capitalism again enters a phase of crisis.
The book is available from RCG/RATB stalls for £15 or can be obtained by sending a cheque for £17 (including postage and packing) made out to 'Larkin Publications' to BCM Box 5909, London WC1N 3XX. Please encourage your local library to obtain a copy of the book too!
Friends in Britain have sent me an copy of this book before its US release. Helen Yaffe has given us a wonderful and timely present in this superb book. This is a well written, thorough study of the work and thought of the ‘Unknown Che’ – the Che who worked tirelessly behind the scenes in the early years of the revolution, leading the struggle to consolidate the Cuban economy and defend it from the sabotage, disruption and destruction created by imperialism. It is based on dozens of interviews with Che’s deputies, collaborators and subordinates, on previously confidential documents and on a wide range of primary and secondary materials difficult to find outside Cuba.
This could have been a dull dense boring scholarly tract; instead it is a lively, dense, exciting adventure through the early years of the Cuban revolution. We witness the incredible creativity and sacrifice of Cuban workers to free themselves from the grip of imperialism. We eavesdrop on the discussions on the Law of Value led by Che – the ‘Great Debate’. We discover Che’s innermost thoughts about socialist transition as he reads and annotates the Soviet Manual of Political Economy. We watch the development and implementation of the Budgetary Finance System, in opposition to the soviet Auto-Financing System. We learn about the extraordinary steps taken to replace the skilled professionals and technicians who fled to the USA rather than support their country, about the preparation to deploy the most advanced scientific and technological techniques in the service of the Cuban revolution. It seems almost impossible to exhaust the range of activities that Che left his mark on and little in the economic sphere that Che left untouched.
It is a stimulating book – I found myself reaching for Lenin’s writings on the economic transition thinking, ‘isn’t that what Lenin meant when …?’ and rereading parts of Capital. But this is not a book for the armchair commissars of academic Marxism. ‘Analysts had interpreted Cuba’s economic stagnation in various ways; the point, however, was to change it’ (p31). Yaffe brings the Cuban workers struggle to change the economy vividly to life with illuminating examples and with her interviewees’ reminiscences. This is a serious book, not a light read and is for those prepared to put some effort into really understanding what was happening in the early years of the revolution. They will be paid back tenfold.
In future it will be quite impossible to conduct an intelligent discussion about Che Guevara, about the early years of the Cuban revolution or about the transition to socialism in underdeveloped countries without having read Che Guevara – the Economics of Revolution. Run, do not walk to get your hands on a copy of this book; study it, do not just read it; above all, enjoy it and learn from it.
Steve Palmer, USA
Traditionally, popular biographies of Che Guevara have tended to concentrate on him as rebel commander and armed internationalist alone, upon the military aspect of his commitment to socialism, whether in Cuba 1956-58, Congo 1965, or Bolivia 1966-67. Descriptions of his work as a member of the revolutionary government between 1959 and 1965 have often been buried under a few anecdotes and selective quotations.
Helen Yaffe's book changes this, and finally rescues the history of his work as President of the National Bank and Minister of Industries. It discusses Che's creation of the Budgetary Finance System, which, despite its rather dry title, was anything but dry. The BFS sought to develop fuller workers self-management in Cuba, and brought about the notion of revolutionary consciousness, largely ignored in the rest of the Socialist Bloc, as a management tool. It also examines Guevara's correct belief that, without massive rejuvenation, the Soviet Union would eventually collapse and return to capitalism. This work is particularly valuable as capitalism again enters a phase of crisis.
The book is available from RCG/RATB stalls for £15 or can be obtained by sending a cheque for £17 (including postage and packing) made out to 'Larkin Publications' to BCM Box 5909, London WC1N 3XX. Please encourage your local library to obtain a copy of the book too!