'Pirates of the Caribbean'

Whatever else one thinks of veteran Marxist writer Tariq Ali, one cannot deny he has an excellent sense of humour, not least when it comes to designing the covers of his books. Take a look at his forthcoming book, Pirates of the Caribbean:


Marvellous stuff (though I can't for the life of me understand quite why Fidel Castro has a halo above his head - he is not an 'angel', despite the claims of many people including George Galloway). Anyway, clearly Tariq's forthcoming book is not about Johnny Depp or Keira Knightley, far from it:

'A revolution is moving across Latin America. Since 1998, the Bolivarian revolution in Venezuela has brought Hugo Chávez to world attention as the foremost challenger of the neoliberal consensus and American foreign policy. Tariq Ali shows how Chávez's views have polarized Latin America and examines the aggression directed against his administration. Pirates of the Caribbean guides us through a world divided between privilege and poverty, a continent that is once again on the march.'

It looks like it will be an interesting book certainly - though I have one initial concern. Portraying Chavez, Morales and Castro as 'pirates' - outlaws fighting the Project for the New American Century - ignores the fact that they are all (well, bar Castro) currently heads of capitalist states. Their progressive nationalist politics of 'socialism from above' are distinctly 'un pirate like' in this sense - real pirates like Blackbeard et al were enemies of all state powers, 'villains of all nations' (as Marcus Rediker puts it). There is therefore a contradiction here in the politics of Chavez et al, one which I hope Tariq Ali does not simply pass over in what I am sure will be a facinating work.

Edited to add: A critical review of the book in SW.