Machismo, Misogyny, and Hypocrisy in Posadism
J. Posadas (1912-1981) The Posadist Fourth International, founded by the Argentinian eccentric J. Posadas, became notorious for its leader’s enthusiasm for nuclear war and willingness to incorporate ufology and pseudoscience into his Marxist philosophy. By the 1960s, Posadism was exhibiting characteristics of a cult, with the cruel and charismatic but not particularly intelligent Posadas revered as a figure of mystic insights. “Any signs of individualism, in behavior or opinion, were mercilessly critiqued,” writes A.M. Gittlitz in his recently published book I Want to Believe: Posadism, UFOs, and Apocalypse Communism . “Even one comrade telling Posadas that he was ‘the best of all us’ drew a rebuke since he was not an individual, but the prime mover and sum total of parts.” [1] Posadas’s ego played the major role in the movement’s trajectory, however; and what may surprise the reader of Gittlitz’s book more than the talk of extraterrestrials or communication with dolphins is the