[It is better to die on your feet than live on your knees: Emilio Mira y López and the social revolution].

Although the socialist ideology of the Catalan psychiatrist Emilio Mira y López (1896-1964) is relatively well known, his psychological-political contribution has been ignored. The aim of this paper is two-fold. First, Mira's psychological analysis of the social revolution is situated in the historical context of Catalonia and Spain before Franco's Dictatorship, taking account of biographical and political as well as scientific and cultural aspects. Second, the way in which Mira related psychology to politics is explored by examining the extent to which his scientific work reflected his socialist ideas.