The article opens with a critical review of Pierre Bourdieu’s proposal for the study of international exchanges regarding culture. After discussing the problematic aspects of his notion of “misunderstanding”, it puts forth an analysis of two argentine episodes concerning the reading of Jack London’s works. The first, narrated by Ernesto Guevara in Pasajes de la Guerra revolucionaria (1963); the second, depicted by Osvaldo Baigorria in Anarquismo trashumante (2008). Inquiring into these documents, it seeks to identify “family resemblances” between the episodes, similarities that refer to shared value associations. Finally, it proposes an alternative to theories of sovereignty –of the author, the text or the reader–and extends the analysis to other dimensions of intellectual history.