I Want to Believe

Posadism, UFOs and Apocalypse Communism

A.M. Gittlitz

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English

Pluto Press
20 April 2020

Social & cultural history; Oral history; Contemporary non-Christian & para-Christian cults & sects; Marxism & Communism; Nuclear weapons

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.

By: A.M. Gittlitz
Imprint: Pluto Press
Country of Publication: United Kingdom
Dimensions: Height: 215mm, Width: 135mm,
Weight: 350g
ISBN: 9780745340777
ISBN 10: 0745340776
Pages: 272
Publication Date: 20 April 2020
Audience: Professional and scholarly , Undergraduate
Format: Paperback
Publisher's Status: Active

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

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.

Reviews for I Want to Believe: Posadism, UFOs and Apocalypse Communism

'I Want to Believe is most compelling in its consideration of how Posadist ideals live on today, beyond the meme-centric irony and vaporwave aesthetics of the extremely online left' -- Baffler 'Gittlitz has recovered an unlikely left-wing hero for these febrile times... and is an able navigator through the ensuing alphabet soup of Trotskyist organisations he travels through' -- Morning Star 'Gittlitz does so well in weaving the life of Posadas with the enclosed parallel universe of Trotskyism he created' -- Socialist Resistance 'If you find yourself afflicted by capitalist realism, a dip into I Want to Believe and the world of Posadism might be just the thing for you' -- Social Review 'There is no reason the left shouldn't engage in the occasional indulgence of UFOwatching alongside the hard work of organising' -- Dawn Foster