Influenced by anarchism and especially by the anarcho-syndicalist Georges Sorel, the political praxis of Peruvian activist and scholar José Carlos Mariátegui (1894–1930) deviated from the policies mandated by the Comintern. Mariátegui saw that new subjectivities would be required to bring about a revolution that would not recreate bourgeois or fascist structures. A new society, he argued, required a new culture. Thus, Mariátegui not only founded the Peruvian Socialist Party, but also created Amauta, a magazine that brought together the writings of the political and cultural avant-gardes.
In the spirit of this approach, Bread and Beauty not only studies the political signifi cance of cultural habits and products; it also looks at the cultural underpinnings of the political proposals found in Mariátegui’s writings and actions.