Defining 21st Century Socialism in Venezuela

[Leftist visitors and international observers often ask of the Bolivarian process, "What does 21st century socialism mean? What is it?" Those same leftists must be wary of answering that question. To interpret events is to participate in them, to define events is to exercise control over them.]

Defining 21st Century Socialism in Venezuela

March 7th 2009, by George Gabriel

Leftist visitors and international observers often ask of the Bolivarian process, "What does 21st century socialism mean? What is it?" Those same leftists must be wary of answering that question. To interpret events is to participate in them, to define events is to exercise control over them. It is about time that observers recognised the virtues of an undefined, uncertain, creative and rebellious movement; where ends remain a swirling vortex of values and passions and our means are less readily sacrificed to them. We leftists must not forget the lessons paid for in blood and sweat in "slave camps under the flag of freedom,"[1] in Russian Gulags and in the prison camps of the Khmer Rouge.

Nowhere has domination by categorisation been felt stronger than in the Middle East. Edward Said's groundbreaking Orientalism examines the historic process by which Europeans codified the "Middle East" into an exotic, sensual, chaotic, and immoral Other. The constructed Other, authored by European experts, was juxtaposed against the Occidental European reason, order, and Christianity, grounding a European identity that is still very much alive today. This process in the words of Said robbed the region's peoples of the chance to be "free subject(s) of thought or action."

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