Love And Social Interaction O Work example essay topic

Address the question: What impact did philosophical studies and personal experience in Latin America have on Che Guevara's ideology and his theories? Structure of presentation: o Focus on what are believed to be the three main factors that had a considerable impact on the development of Che's ideologies o Summarize the main concepts behind Guevara's ideology Whilst aspects of Che's ideology and motivation can be likened to aspects of Karl Marx and Frederick Engels' Manifesto of the Communist Party, there are 3 main factors that had an obvious and significant influence upon the way Che viewed the society in which he lived. 1. Che's family and upbringing 2. His travelling through Latin America, in particular through Guatemala which led to his theories of social justice 3. Influence of the philosopher Alfred Adler Che's family and upbringing o During his childhood, Che had access to books on history, philosophy, psychology with authors such as Marx, Engels, Lenin, Kropotkin, Sarmiento o Don Ernesto (father) was a devout enemy of Nazism and fascism.

Like father like son, he was concerned with the welfare of the peasantry. o Celia (mother) was involved in the Argentine feminist movement and she was described as independent, intelligent and a free spirit o Major incident amongst Guevara's ancestors where an extensive court case with the Yankee Imperialists was concerned. Guevara's ancestors lost the case. o Don Ernesto believed that tis evoked the heroic figure in his son, who gave his life for the freedom of America. Travelling through Latin America during the early 1950's o During the early 1950's Che Guevara spent a great deal of time travelling throughout the Latin American continent, experiencing the hardships and oppression of the people where he saw cruelty, exploitation, misery and injustices. o His experience in Guatemala is one of the major formative influences of Guevara's life. Castro and Che's parents believe that Che's experiences in Guatemala were decisive. It was at this stage that Che realised an armed uprising was necessary in combating social injustice. o United States backed invasion of Guatemala gave Che an opportunity to trial his theory but when the North American sponsored invasion took place, he proved unsuccessful in recruiting a group of men to fight even though in Guatemala, it was necessary to resist attack. o However, failure led Che to realise that there must be a belief amongst the people that a successful revolution will be able to change the situation.

(The current situation was that 80% of the population was without shoes and 70% were illiterate) o During this time Guevara studied the works of prominent philosophers including Sigmund Freud, Carl Jung, Jean-Paul Sartre, and Alfred Adler Philosophy of Alfred Adler o From the theories of Alfred Adler, Guevara became aware of the Inferiority Complex and Social Interest. Adler stated that "basic human motivation was to strive from a 'felt minus situation, from a feeling of inferiority towards superiority, perfection and totality. ' " o The fundamentals of Adler's theory of Inferiority Complex, consist of Organ Inferiority, which is the source for the felt minus; Aggressive Drive, the struggle toward the felt plus; Masculine Protest, the assertion of manliness to gain greater competence, superiority and control - to be submissive is feminine; Superiority Striving, namely to achieve one's best, not necessarily to be better than others; Perfection Striving, the effort to improve realistically. o These ideas related to what Che saw in Latin America and may have formed or emphasised his idea that Latin America could only be liberated through an armed uprising, to move from their felt minus due to their oppression, to a felt plus, by taking control of their nation. o Applying this to context, organ inferiority as Che saw it in Latin America, was the oppression of the people be the Yankee Imperialists and their exploitation. The Aggressive Drive, was the uprising of the peasants and disgruntled workers, through revolution, to attack the existing structure. Superiority and Perfection Striving for Latin America, represented a successful revolutionary movement, the end of the old ways of Yankee exploitation and the perfection of the New Man. o Adler's theory of Social Interest, implied that each person should strive for a socially useful life. Adler's theory contained the ideas that: individual are socially embedded and there is an innate potential to live co-operatively with other people. All of this came about through the Three Tasks of Life.

Guevara's Ideology o The three tasks of life in essence represent the basic principles of Che's beliefs. His intention was to create the New Man, such that each person would be socially useful in all aspects of his life. Three Tasks of Life: Work, Love and Social Interaction o Work: In work one should hold a socially useful job and that the division of labour organises cooperation, in order to provide the necessities and wants of society. o Love: Successful love affirms the work of both partners o Social Interaction: It is an extension of love. Social interaction deals with a strong sense of social interest, which in turn prevents a narcissistic and self-centred attitude thus heightening social usefulness. Was Che Guevara successful in spreading his ideologies amongst Cubans? It was noted shortly after the triumph of the Cuban Revolution "Guevara was beaming.

His ideal seemed to have been achieved - A community of men and women drawn together without false respect of sham differences". Thus, Che's purpose in Latin America can best be described as a revolutionary with.