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Latin America's socail imagination since 1950. From one type of 'absolute certainties' to another - with no (far more creative)'uncomfortable uncertainties' in sight

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  • José Gabriel Palma

Abstract

Latin America is a region whose critical social imagination has stalled, changing from a uniquely prolific period during the 1950s and 1960s - revolving around structuralism, 'dependency', Baran and Sweezy-type analysis of 'monopoly capitalism', French structuralism, the German Historical School, Keynesian and Post-Keynesian macroeconomics, and the ideas of endogenous intellectuals (such as Mariátegui) - to an intellectually barren one since the 1982 debt-crisis and the fall of the Berlin Wall. Although this has happened in most of the world, the downswing of the cycle of critical thinking and the process of re-legitimisation of capital have been more pronounced in Latin America, as neo-liberalism has conquered the region, including most of its progressive intelligentsia, just as completely (and just as fiercely) as the Holy Inquisition conquered Spain - transforming critical thinkers into an endangered species. A key problem of the pre-1980 critical social imagination had been its unremitting critique of the economy; consequently, once the 'new left' conceded the economy as the fundamental hub of the struggle, there seemed to have been little else left in terms of basic ideological principles to hold onto in a thoughtful way. It was as if 'progressive' thinking had lost not just some but all its relevance - making it very difficult to move forward ideologically in a creative way. As a result, in terms of development strategies and economic policies both the 'old' and the 'new' left are still mostly stuck in the past: while the former (as in Venezuela) tries to recreate somewhat mechanically what it perceives to be 'the best of the past', the latter (except for their policies on social expenditure) attempts to create a future which is fundamentally the exact opposite of that past (e.g., the 'new-left' in Brazil and Chile) - and in order to do so, it seems to have only one guiding economic policy principle: to transform practically everything that before was considered "virtue" into a "vice", and "vice" into a "virtue". Not surprisingly, neither approach has been very successful; in the case of the latter, their remarkably narrow 'reverse-gear' attitude has delivered not only a disappointing economic performance (especially in terms of productivity-growth), but also a political settlement characterised by a rather odd mixture of an insatiable oligarchy, a captured 'progressive' political élite (the dominant classes are quite happy to let them govern as long as they don't forget who they are), 'sterilised' governments, passive citizens, and a stalled social imagination - all made more palatable for the poor by an agenda of safety-nets. From time to time, this dull mélange is sparked off by outbursts of students' discontent. Meanwhile, the world (with its new technological and institutional paradigms) moves on, and Asia forges ahead.

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  • José Gabriel Palma, 2014. "Latin America's socail imagination since 1950. From one type of 'absolute certainties' to another - with no (far more creative)'uncomfortable uncertainties' in sight," Cambridge Working Papers in Economics 1416, Faculty of Economics, University of Cambridge.
  • Handle: RePEc:cam:camdae:1416
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. José Gabriel Palma, 2008. "Structuralism," Chapters, in: Amitava Krishna Dutt & Jaime Ros (ed.), International Handbook of Development Economics, Volumes 1 & 2, volume 0, chapter 10, Edward Elgar Publishing.
    2. Ramón E. López & Eugenio Figueroa B. & Pablo Gutiérrez C., 2013. "La ‘parte del león’: Nuevas estimaciones de la participación de los súper ricos en el ingreso de Chile," Working Papers wp379, University of Chile, Department of Economics.
    3. G. C. Harcourt, 2008. "The Structure of Post-Keynesian Economics," Palgrave Macmillan Books, in: Mathew Forstater & L. Randall Wray (ed.), Keynes for the Twenty-First Century, chapter 0, pages 185-197, Palgrave Macmillan.
    4. Palma, J Gabriel & Marcel, Mario, 1989. "Kaldor on the 'Discreet Charm' of the Chilean Bourgeoisie," Cambridge Journal of Economics, Cambridge Political Economy Society, vol. 13(1), pages 245-272, March.
    5. Cardoso, Fernando Henrique, 1974. "Nota sobre el estado actual de los estudios sobre dependencia," Sede de la CEPAL en Santiago (Estudios e Investigaciones) 34470, Naciones Unidas Comisión Económica para América Latina y el Caribe (CEPAL).
    6. Palma, Gabriel, 1978. "Dependency: A formal theory of underdevelopment or a methodology for the analysis of concrete situations of underdevelopment?," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 6(7-8), pages 881-924.
    7. Palma, J.G., 2010. "Why has productivity growth stagnated in most Latin-American countries since the neo-liberal reforms? (Revised 26-07-2011)," Cambridge Working Papers in Economics 1030, Faculty of Economics, University of Cambridge.
    8. Palma, J.G., 2009. "The Revenge of the Market on the Rentiers: Why neo-liberal Reports of the end of history turned out to be premature (Updated 19 December 2011)," Cambridge Working Papers in Economics 0927, Faculty of Economics, University of Cambridge.
    9. Vos, Rob & Frenkel, Roberto & Ocampo, José Antonio & Palma, José Gabriel & Marfán, Manuel & Ros, Jaime & Taylor, Lance & Correa, Nelson & Cimoli, Mario, 2005. "Beyond Reforms: Structural Dynamics and Macroeconomic Vulnerability," IDB Publications (Books), Inter-American Development Bank, number 347.
    10. José Gabriel Palma, 2009. "The revenge of the market on the rentiers," Cambridge Journal of Economics, Cambridge Political Economy Society, vol. 33(4), pages 829-869, July.
    11. Cardoso, Fernando Henrique, 1977. "The originality of a copy: CEPAL and the idea of development," Revista CEPAL, Naciones Unidas Comisión Económica para América Latina y el Caribe (CEPAL), December.
    12. Ocampo, Jose Antonio & Ros, Jaime (ed.), 2011. "The Oxford Handbook of Latin American Economics," OUP Catalogue, Oxford University Press, number 9780199571048.
    13. -, 2005. "Beyond reforms: structural dynamics and macroeconomic vulnerability," Coediciones, Naciones Unidas Comisión Económica para América Latina y el Caribe (CEPAL), number 1290 edited by Eclac, May.
    14. José Gabriel Palma, 2005. "The seven main "stylized facts" of the Mexican economy since trade liberalization and NAFTA," Industrial and Corporate Change, Oxford University Press and the Associazione ICC, vol. 14(6), pages 941-991, December.
    15. Moreno-Brid, Juan Carlos & Ros, Jaime, 2009. "Development and Growth in the Mexican Economy: An Historical Perspective," OUP Catalogue, Oxford University Press, number 9780195371161.
    16. Palma, J.G., 2011. "Homogeneous middles vs. heterogeneous tails, and the end of the ‘Inverted-U’: the share of the rich is what it's all about," Cambridge Working Papers in Economics 1111, Faculty of Economics, University of Cambridge.
    17. José Antonio Ocampo, 2005. "Beyond Reforms : Structural Dynamics and Macroeconomic Vulnerability," World Bank Publications - Books, The World Bank Group, number 7378.
    18. repec:idb:brikps:59518 is not listed on IDEAS
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    As found by EconAcademics.org, the blog aggregator for Economics research:
    1. To boldly go where no economist has gone before
      by Robin in Cherokee Gothic on 2014-08-15 18:38:10

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Latin America; Ideology; Critical Thinking; Structuralism; Dependency; Neoliberalism; Fundamentalism; 'New Left'; Top 1%; Keynes; Foucault; Prebisch; Hirschman.;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • B5 - Schools of Economic Thought and Methodology - - Current Heterodox Approaches
    • D3 - Microeconomics - - Distribution
    • E2 - Macroeconomics and Monetary Economics - - Consumption, Saving, Production, Employment, and Investment
    • F13 - International Economics - - Trade - - - Trade Policy; International Trade Organizations
    • F59 - International Economics - - International Relations, National Security, and International Political Economy - - - Other
    • J20 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demand and Supply of Labor - - - General
    • L52 - Industrial Organization - - Regulation and Industrial Policy - - - Industrial Policy; Sectoral Planning Methods
    • N16 - Economic History - - Macroeconomics and Monetary Economics; Industrial Structure; Growth; Fluctuations - - - Latin America; Caribbean
    • N36 - Economic History - - Labor and Consumers, Demography, Education, Health, Welfare, Income, Wealth, Religion, and Philanthropy - - - Latin America; Caribbean
    • O16 - Economic Development, Innovation, Technological Change, and Growth - - Economic Development - - - Financial Markets; Saving and Capital Investment; Corporate Finance and Governance
    • O4 - Economic Development, Innovation, Technological Change, and Growth - - Economic Growth and Aggregate Productivity
    • P5 - Political Economy and Comparative Economic Systems - - Comparative Economic Systems

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