I Want to Believe

Posadism, UFOs and Apocalypse Communism

A.M. Gittlitz (Autor)

Buch | Hardcover

272 Seiten

2020
Pluto Press (Verlag)
978-0-7453-4076-0 (ISBN)

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Aliens, nuclear war and talking dolphins; this book is a study of the weird and wonderful world of the Posadists

Advocating nuclear war, attempting communication with dolphins and taking an interest in the paranormal and UFOs, there is perhaps no greater (or stranger) cautionary tale for the Left than that of Posadism.

Named after the Argentine Trotskyist J. Posadas, the movement's journey through the fractious and sectarian world of mid-20th century revolutionary socialism was unique. Although at times significant, Posadas' movement was ultimately a failure. As it disintegrated, it increasingly grew to resemble a bizarre cult, detached from the working class it sought to liberate. The renewed interest in Posadism today - especially for its more outlandish fixations - speaks to both a cynicism towards the past and nostalgia for the earnest belief that a better world is possible.

Drawing on considerable archival research, and numerous interviews with ex- and current Posadists, I Want to Believe tells the fascinating story of this most unusual socialist movement and considers why it continues to capture the imaginations of leftists today.

A.M. Gittlitz is a journalist and social critic based in Brooklyn, New York. He has contributed to The New Inquiry, The New York Times, The Outline, Baffler, Real Life, Salon, and Vice.

List of Illustrations

List of Abbreviations

Acknowledgements

Introduction

PART I: THE TRAGIC CENTURY

1. Commentaries on the Infancy of Comrade Posadas

2. Revolutionary Youth or Patriotic Youth?

3. The Death Throes of Capitalism

4. The Origins of Posadism

5. Where are we Going?

PART II: THE POSADIST FOURTH INTERNATIONAL

6. The Flying International

7. The Role of Anti-Imperialist and Revolutionary Militants, the Role of Trotskyists, the Program, and Tasks During and After the Atomic War

8. The Macabre Farce of the Supposed Death of Guevara

9. Flying Saucers, the Process of Matter and Energy, Science, the Revolutionary and Working-Class Struggle, and the Socialist Future of Mankind

10. The Accident

11. Hombrecitos

12. Volver

13. What Exists Cannot Be True

14. Arrival of Comrade Homerita to the House

PART III: NEO-POSADISM

15. Historical Sincerity

16. Why Don’t Extraterrestrials Make Public Contact?

17. UFOs to the People

18. On the Function of the Joke and Irony in History

Timeline

Notes

Index

Erscheinungsdatum	21.04.2020
Zusatzinfo	6 Figures
Verlagsort	London
Sprache	englisch
Maße	135 x 215 mm
Gewicht	495 g
Themenwelt	Sachbuch/Ratgeber
	Geschichte ► Allgemeine Geschichte ► Neuzeit (bis 1918)
	Geisteswissenschaften ► Geschichte ► Regional- / Ländergeschichte
	Geschichte ► Teilgebiete der Geschichte ► Kulturgeschichte
	Geisteswissenschaften ► Religion / Theologie ► Weitere Religionen
	Sozialwissenschaften ► Politik / Verwaltung ► Politische Systeme
	Sozialwissenschaften ► Politik / Verwaltung ► Politische Theorie
ISBN-10	0-7453-4076-8 / 0745340768
ISBN-13	978-0-7453-4076-0 / 9780745340760
Zustand	Neuware