Myth and revolution: “metaphysical animal” and hombre matinal in José Carlos Mariátegui

Abstract

The objective of this study is to analyze the uses of the notion of “myth” in the work of Peruvian Marxist intellectual José Carlos Mariátegui, as the basis for the concepts of “metaphysical animal” and “morning man” – the former dialoguing with what we might consider human nature, the latter with the projection of the “new man” who would be in the process of formation. We hope to understand how, for Mariátegui, myth must justify revolutionary action and be the central element of the revolutionary process. Based on this analysis, we suggest that the theoretical path taken by the author constitutes a possibility of breaking with the dilemma experienced by peripheral intellectuals since their constitution: “to be like the center” or “to be ourselves.” We argue that Mariátegui knew how to react creatively and, to a certain extent, go beyond that dilemma. In this sense, aspects of Mariátegui’s work could contribute to overcoming the two main shortcomings attributed to the thinking of the global peripheries by centrist intellectuals and even by peripheral intellectuals themselves, namely, their backwardness and their lack of Cartesian rationality.