European socialism, colonialism and the case of kibbutzim

This paper explores the complex and heterogeneous discourses on colonialism ex-pressed in European socialist cultures from the middle of the 19th century to the first decades of the 20th century. All this by examining the ideology typified by Karl Marx and other socialist figures, and by analyzing debates in socialist conferences, i.e. those articulated by the Peruvian Marxist politician Jose Carlos Mariategui, and the historian Tony Judt. The discussion focuses on whether the Zionist kibbutzim truly symbolizes the historical relationship between socialism and colonialism: equality and utopia for white people, versus indifference or legitimation in relation to dispossession, segregation and even ethnic cleansing for non-Europeans. A study of the historical connection between European socialist cultures and colonialism may reveal some of the key factors behind present-day Eurocentric thought and the relationship between Europe and the rest of the world.