ANIBAL PONCE, HUMANISM AND REVOLUTION

Abstract

In the present article the author analyzes the theoretical and philosophical thinking of the Argentinean Anibal Norberto Ponce, one of the founders, along with the Peruvian José Carlos Mariátegui, the Cuban Julio Antonio Mella and the Chilean Luis Emilio Recabarren, of Latin American Marxism. Its central argument tries to understand the cultural specificity of Ponce's Marxism by linking it and differentiating it at the same time from his teacher, the famous José Ingenieros. For this, the notable influence of both of the Bolshevik revolution stands out, but it broadens Ponce's Marxism beyond the first impact of Lenin and his companions. In this sense, the work highlights the anti-imperialist vein and the fundamentally humanist character from which Ponce interprets Marx, converging with dialectical Marxism and Western European humanism (for example the young Lukács and Antonio Gramsci). The investigation culminates in highlighting the indelible mark of the thought of Aníbal Ponce in the revolutionary Marxism of Ernesto Che Guevara (who read and studied it in his youth together with his friend Tita Infante).