reverse reviewed Building the Commune by George Ciccariello-Maher
Review of 'Building the Commune' on 'Goodreads'
This was an important book for me, because it moved me away from thinking of the situation in Venezuela only in terms of its government: it talks about how Chavez did not materialize in thin air, but was fostered in a rich communal organizing culture, that is alive in Venezuela even today, and that even though Chavez tried to give it as much power from above as he could, they are still often at odds because of their different nature.
It presents the situation today as a struggle between communes trying to become self sufficient, to organize and give power to their people, a right wing faction coming from the rich strata of Venezuela's still essentially capitalist society, and the state, which seemed to me to stand a bit in between.
At times it felt like the author is romanticizing the communes, their culture and the revolution, although he still …
This was an important book for me, because it moved me away from thinking of the situation in Venezuela only in terms of its government: it talks about how Chavez did not materialize in thin air, but was fostered in a rich communal organizing culture, that is alive in Venezuela even today, and that even though Chavez tried to give it as much power from above as he could, they are still often at odds because of their different nature.
It presents the situation today as a struggle between communes trying to become self sufficient, to organize and give power to their people, a right wing faction coming from the rich strata of Venezuela's still essentially capitalist society, and the state, which seemed to me to stand a bit in between.
At times it felt like the author is romanticizing the communes, their culture and the revolution, although he still gave nuance to my existing, simplistic view of the situation.
All in all I'd recommend this book to anyone who's wondering what the hell is up in Venezuela.
