Critical Notes on Political Economy

by Che Guevara (1965)

8/10

Not only is it fascinating to see Guevara’s personality (and sarcasm!) while commenting on the USSR Manual, but it’s an incredibly helpful way to learn about the intricacies of 20th century state socialism and the problems therein. Seeing the manual lay out the USSR’s argument and then Che respond passage by passage is really a perfect learning tool not only for the subject of political economy, but also for how to read a text critically.

It’s obvious why this was suppressed until the mid-00s… Che is very critical of USSR, Lenin, and specifically Lenin’s NEP which he characterizes as sort of an original sin of state socialism (trying to create a hybrid economy with capitalism). He points out clear propagandistic passages that are unsupported by real-world evidence, and he’s also heavily skeptical of state socialism in general.

A large point of disagreement for Che is also in the USSR’s emphasis on the proletariat and working class, giving them primacy in a socialist revolution/state over farmers/campesinos. This directly contradicts the experience of the Cuban, Chinese and Vietnamese revolutions and Che isn’t shy about pointing it out. I don’t know much about Maoism but my impression is that this puts Che solidly in the Maoist camp.

So far, my only disagreement with Che would be that he does not give sufficient consideration to the global context of USSR socialism, in which from their inception they were competing with capitalist superpowers (Germany, GB and the U.S.) in a literal existential struggle. Parenti refers to this as “siege socialism,” and it’s unclear if there was any pathway apart from something like the NEP to preserve both the nation and the revolution. I don’t think Che fully takes that into account with his criticism of the NEP.

There was a lot in here that was over my head, especially Che’s discussion of competing budgeting systems. Also I was only able to find a Spanish copy, so I’m sure I lost a lot of nuance by reading it in my second language. But those with more interest in economics will undoubtedly find those discussions and the meeting transcripts in the appendix to be fascinating as well. I highly recommend this to any Marxist who is especially interested in economic theory, and I wish you more luck than I had in finding an English copy!