Recorded Fragments: Twelve reflections on the 20th century
Through these twelve interviews, Bensaïd takes a critical look at the short 20th century: from the October Revolution, to the fall of the Berlin Wall, passing through the German Revolution, the Spanish Revolution, Fascism, Stalingrad, the Cold War, the tragedy of Greek Communism, the Algerian Revolution, May '68, feminism, the black movement, Lumumba and African independence, the Cuban Revolution and Guevarism, Allende's Chile and the MIR, the Mitterrand years...
An uncompromising revolutionary, an inveterate opponent of reformism, Daniel opposes sectarianism with equal force, criticising it even in those he admires most: for example, in the tone of Leon Trotsky's attacks on the Spanish POUM or Victor Serge. He acknowledges that his own current has been unfair to Salvador Allende: compared to today's reformists, he was "a giant of the class struggle"!
Daniel noted the defeat of the great hopes of emancipation at the beginning of the 20th century. In 1900, socialists believed in a century of peace, freedom, social justice... At the end of the century, we must acknowledge our historical defeat, a social, political and moral defeat (Stalinism). We are entering a new era, but we are not starting from scratch: we are starting from the middle. And we must prepare for the next forks in the road, which will not cease to emerge...
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