Suchergebnisse

Ponenica presentada en la conferencia de la CLAT sobre la democratizacion, el nuevo desarrollo y la integracion latinoamericana, Quito, Ecuador, 18 al 22 de mayo de 1987

The metatheoretical suppositions underlying Emile Durkheim's theory of the social are investigated. Issues treated include: (1) the problem of establishing scientific rigor in studying the social, while distinguishing social from natural science; (2) determining & defining the objects of empirical study; (3) the problem of induction & abstraction in science; (4) epistemological & ontological problems of objectivity; & (5) types of social causality. It is argued that, in the case of his study of suicide, Durkheim's insistence that sociology's point of departure be empirical data is contradicted by his tacit presupposition of social cohesion. 22 References. J. Anderson

This article attempts to analyse the factors which have led to the recent deterioration in Cuba's ability to service its debt. The author argues that the balance of trade situation was artificially strengthened in earlier years by unusually high sugar prices and favourable credit policies by commercial banks and international agencies. But underlying tendencies were negative and culminated with the crisis of 1986 in which Cuba suspended payment on its debt pending renegotiation. In conclusion, Cuba's policy response in 1986-88 is examined and current options are assessed

This article presents a structuralist model for the Peruvian economy, which seeks to capture some of its key features, such as the dependence on intermediate and capital goods, the relative rigidity of the export and agricultural supply, the existence of parastatal input producers and the possibility of financing the production through foreign debt. The model is later used to explain the long-term restrictions to growth. The author criticizes the economic policy of the Belaunde regime and presents the logic of the heterodox alternative and the reasons of its initial success and later disaster

The rejection of so-called "methodological individualism" has always been part of the theoretical tradition of historical materialism. From Karl Marx to contemporary works within this theoretical perspective, the points of departure for explaining historico-social phenomena are collective phenomena, which always have priority over individual phenomena. Here, the position of Jon Elster on methodological individualism is presented. Elster is a Norwegian philosopher whose works encompass a variety of disciplines, including analytical philosophy, political science, sociology, economic theory, & Marxism. In his most recent book (Making Sense of Marx, London/Paris: Cambridge U Press/Editions de la Maison des Sciences de l'Homme, 1985), Elster maintains that methodological individualism underlies most of Marx's works, & he defends this methodology by an adequate analysis of social phenomena. Some of the assumptions of methodological individualism that are problematic for the construction of a social theory are pointed out, along with a certain ambiguity in Elster's thesis. Author Summary Tr & Modified by C. Waters

An investigation of the nature of capitalism distinguishes three historical periods in Latin America: (1) the oligarchic period of agricultural exports; (2) the earlier industrial period of substitution of imports; & (3) the later industrial period of monopolistic transnationalization &, currently, of global monetarism. Each period is characterized, using a wide range of statistical data & published studies, taking as parameters the distribution of nonagricultural employment & income, & distinguishing economic & occupational sectors, including both formal & informal Ur sectors. The social groups of the different periods are described in relation to their SC situation. Considering the analytic importance of the relations between the formal & informal sectors, a theoretical discussion examines the SC position of one sector typical of global monetarism: the "hidden" proletariat or subproletariat, which is considered to be a necessary product & reproductive subject of this type of accumulation of capital. The themes discussed include: capitalism, urbanization, & migration; stratification; employment in manufacturing & in the third sector; the influence of the informal sector on the distribution of income; modes of exploitation of the LF; relations between formal & informal sectors & the relations of production; & the informal sector & the SC situation. Author Summary Tr & Modified by C. Waters