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The pol'al thought of Mosca underwent an evolution which led it from the anti-parliamentary & anti-democratic polemics of his first writings to an overtly liberal position in his more mature yrs. In effect, the 2 themes which make up the key of his system and upon which his fame rests, `pol'al class' & `pol'al formula' (which we are more apt to designate as `elites' & `ideology') are treated in his earlier works in a clearly anti-democratic sense. Experience & more extensive study of the parliamentary system later produced a more favorable attitude & the concept of `judicial defense' which is at the heart of the defense of individual liberties. It is thus that Mosca adheres to the liberal tradition & to an original interpretation of democracy. Tr by J. A. Broussard from IPSA.

Following the psychol'ts & econ'ts, pol'al sci'ts have focused their attention on studies of the decision-making process. Sci'fic methods, analyzing the phenomenon, & making it possible to predict the outcome, have been set forth by diff investigators. The results are far from being satisfactory. In effect, it is only possible to make predictions when a minimum of knowledge, freedom & coherence presides over human decisions. If we pass from the individual to the collective, which is that of pol'al decisions, we see that the decisions of several individuals are not only `concurrent' but 'cooperative', for they tend to arrive at a single decision for the entire group. It is interesting to compare the individual choice of a consumer & the individual choice of a voter (the vote of the majority being the normal group means of arriving at a decision). Certain authors, Black in particular, do not see any diff in principle between them. Others, like Buchanan, see fundamental diff's: the consumer knows the immediate result of his choice, not the voter; the first wishes to satisfy his tastes, the latter to realize his values: above all the latter can be forced to accept a result contrary to his choice. Pol'al decisions, made in uncertainty, are thus exposed to coercion. Tr. by Z. Dana from IPSA.

The US is seeking a new party system. Neither the Democratic (Dem) Party nor the Republican (Rep) Party appears to be deserving of the confidence of the electorate, & especially not that of the independent voter who is the result of prosperity. The results of the Nov, 1956 elections show that if there exists an Eisenhower myth, as there did a Roosevelt myth, the identification of Eisenhower with the Rep Party has not come about. If Eisenhower has defeated the opposition at the national level, the Dem Party has succeeded in defeating the Rep Party in local elections. However, this Dem majority has itself changed in makeup: it is no longer dependent upon the public. By 1931, this shift in PO was already obvious. President Roosevelt, who replaced the traditionalist Hoover, decided that the recognition of the USSR posed no problems that could not be solved through diplomatic negotiations. He entered into discussions with Litvinov on the limiting of Communist propaganda in US territories & on the granting of freedom of belief to US citizens in the USSR. Once these problems were resolved, recognition of the USSR ensued, & the opponents of this policy were effectively silenced by this event. In another sense, the panic of 1929 destroyed the belief of Americans in the supremacy of their nation over that of the USSR, a belief which was founded not upon the equilibrium of forces but upon arbitrary moral judgments, & the panic forced the US to solve the Soviet problem in a realistic fashion (in terms of power). Tr by J. A. Broussard from IPSA.

The argentine economic development in Manuel Belgrano`s Thought: The author introduces us in his study by giving a short account of the variations political economy in the course of the last quarter of the century. It is important to note that the first part of this article explains the nature of economic development as well as the influence exercised by long run movements. Manuel Belgrano one of our first economists, has left us in his "Memories" the "first ideas for a theory of Argentine economic development" as he was intellectually one century ahead of his contemporaries. According to Manuel Belgrano "economic development is part of the socio-cultural development; economic development is an harmonic process; economic development is concordant with free market economy". Estevan Echeverria, fore runner of solidaristic economic theories: His christian universalism as well as his adhesion to the "theory of perfectibility" did not impede Echeverria to agree at the same time with the dogma of "human rights", mainstay of nationalistic philosophy. It is on the basis of the solidarity law that he establishes his social philosophy, which later was adopted by the majority of western economists and politicians. Among the natural human rights Echeverria considers the property right and sustains that it should be adapted to social necessities and interests. He sees in the economic development the principal element for the achievement of the supreme law of progress which in turns is conditioned by the time factor, avoiding class struggles. Completely independent from H. V. Thünen. Echeverria reaches the same conclusions and establishes the tax system upon the principle of location advantages. Between the two extreme concepts – individual and humanity – he intercalates the idea of nationality becoming thus the fore runner of the "national school of Argentine political economy". Although he is a defender of economic freedom, he nevertheless admits state interventions, providing they are aimed to increase social welfare, the production of national wealth and the moral intellectual and physical improvement of the numerous poor classes. Silvio Gesell: The author describes Gesell's life since he settled in Argentina where he devoted himself to his business, being specially attracted by the analysis of economic and social problems. After a through examination of Gesell's writing, the author explains his economic theory which is intimately connected with his social doctrine, and describes the gesellian and post-gesellian movement. The thinks that the attitude of absolute reserve which economists maintained during almost thirty years with regard to Gesell and his teaching was not so much due to his caustic and offensive spirit, as to the fact that he had the presumption to solve the most difficult economic problem which ever faced noted scholars: the problem of interest. His perseverance as well as that of his disciples, particularly Theophil Cristen, forced the economists to break the silence, thus giving origin to a series of monographics in which critical analysis are made with ever increasing objectivity and depth. ; Instituto de Investigaciones Económicas