Human Development and Class Struggle in Venezuela’s Popular Economy: The Paradox of ‘Twenty-First Century Socialism’
In: Historical MaterialismAbstract
In this paper, I outline what I take to be the most important theoretical claims and innovations of ‘twenty-first century socialism’ in Venezuela. These, I argue, consist of an emphasis on human development through popular-economy initiatives, and the importance of building popular power through the state, rather than by ignoring or fighting against it. I then present evidence on Venezuela’s Socialist Production Units, one of Venezuela’s newest state-supported popular-economy organisations. I argue that, consistent with the twenty-first-century socialism approach, SPUs are sites of human development in which participants are learning to challenge capitalist social relations, while establishing new values and practices. Therefore, we can think of Venezuela’s popular economy as expressing a sharpened class contradiction.
However, my case study also shows that holding hands with human development is class struggle directed against the state. This reveals a central theoretical and practical paradox in twenty-first century socialism, namely that, while nurturing initiatives that challenge capital, the Venezuelan state also emerges as an important barrier to overcoming the class relation. This, I argue, is not wholly consistent with the views of theorists of twenty-first century socialism that understand Venezuela’s popular economy as forming a new form of dual power or a parallel state, and who therefore downplay the importance of struggles against the state within the popular economy. The strategic implication is that struggles between popular-economy participants and the state cannot be avoided, and indeed will need to be fostered if the project for twenty-first century socialism is to continue.
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1.
Castañeda 2006.
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2.
Lebowitz 2007.
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3.
Bárcena 2011.
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4.
Eastwood 2011, p. 6.
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5.
Weisbrot 2011, pp. 204–5.
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6.
Lebowitz 2010.
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8.
Marx and Engels 1970, p. 64.
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10.
Álvarez and Rodriguez, p. 19.
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11.
Wilpert 2007.
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12.
Harnecker 2010, p. 62.
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14.
Cf. Poulantzas 1978.
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15.
Lebowitz 2005, p. 228.
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16.
Ciccariello-Maher 2007.
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17.
Ellner 2010.
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18.
Harnecker 2010, p. 62.
-
19.
Martinez, Fox and Farrell (eds.) 2010, pp. 7–8.
-
20.
Martinez, Fox and Farrell (eds.) 2010, p. viii.
-
21.
Bruce 2008, p. 138.
-
22.
Cf. Harnecker 2007.
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23.
Graterol and Díaz 2007.
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24.
Harnecker 2007. I was not able to find reliable up-to-date figures.
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26.
Lucena and Carmona 2006.
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27.
Vieta and Ruggeri 2009, p. 30.
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28.
Lucena and Carmona 2006; El Militante 2006.
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29.
Harnecker 2007.
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31.
Chávez 2012.
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32.
Albert 2008; Azzellini 2011.
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35.
PDVSA 2006.
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36.
Freire 1970; Motta 2011.
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40.
Lebowitz 2003, 2005, 2006.
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41.
Lebowitz 2010, p. 62.
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Human Development and Class Struggle in Venezuela’s Popular Economy: The Paradox of ‘Twenty-First Century Socialism’
In: Historical MaterialismAbstract
In this paper, I outline what I take to be the most important theoretical claims and innovations of ‘twenty-first century socialism’ in Venezuela. These, I argue, consist of an emphasis on human development through popular-economy initiatives, and the importance of building popular power through the state, rather than by ignoring or fighting against it. I then present evidence on Venezuela’s Socialist Production Units, one of Venezuela’s newest state-supported popular-economy organisations. I argue that, consistent with the twenty-first-century socialism approach, SPUs are sites of human development in which participants are learning to challenge capitalist social relations, while establishing new values and practices. Therefore, we can think of Venezuela’s popular economy as expressing a sharpened class contradiction.
However, my case study also shows that holding hands with human development is class struggle directed against the state. This reveals a central theoretical and practical paradox in twenty-first century socialism, namely that, while nurturing initiatives that challenge capital, the Venezuelan state also emerges as an important barrier to overcoming the class relation. This, I argue, is not wholly consistent with the views of theorists of twenty-first century socialism that understand Venezuela’s popular economy as forming a new form of dual power or a parallel state, and who therefore downplay the importance of struggles against the state within the popular economy. The strategic implication is that struggles between popular-economy participants and the state cannot be avoided, and indeed will need to be fostered if the project for twenty-first century socialism is to continue.
| All Time | Past Year | Past 30 Days | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Abstract Views | 770 | 100 | 6 |
| Full Text Views | 226 | 6 | 0 |
| PDF Views & Downloads | 126 | 8 | 0 |