Utopia and Revolution: Doing and Undoing Ethics in Latin America

Abstract

This chapter outlines the lives, ideas, and legacies of two of the most influential 20th-century Latin American figures: Abimael Guzmán Reynoso, the infamous leader of the terrorist organization Sendero Luminoso, and Francisco Miró Quesada Cantuarias, arguably Peru's most prominent philosopher of the century. It examines how the call to “do ethics” leads to devastation when grounded in murderous premises, as exemplified by Guzmán, versus moral progress when inspired by a genuine love of wisdom, as seen in Miró Quesada. The chapter further explores the ethics of revolutions, advocating stricter limitations than those proposed by Miró Quesada to prevent unnecessary suffering.