Suchergebnisse

Corning and Hines' assertions at the beginning of their article are correct. The political development literature is in "disarray." There is dissensus on definitions and measures. The term 'political evolution' is seldom used in any technical or precise sense. Political scientists are mostly "unaware of the burgeoning literature… on the causal dynamics underlying the evolution of society in general and of politics and the state in particular," and their "knowledge of pre-modern politics" does tend to be "sketchy." The time is "ripe" (as always?) for "fresh approaches." The introduction or reintroduction of "an evolutionary perspective" could be, depending on how it is defined, a "radical departure" from dominant frames of reference in political science.

Is Socialism a means to eliminate or reduce dependency and its alleged concomitants? According to a number of authors, including those of the most influential recent approaches to the study of Latin American politics and development, it is. Indeed, for most of these authors socialism is the only desirable or acceptable way to address the problems of dependent capitalism. For them, capitalism is inherently exploitative and repressive; socialism is the only desirable or acceptable path to a more autonomous, egalitarian, free and just society (Cardoso and Faletto, 1979: ix-xxiv, 209-216).As some of the foregoing implies, and as is obvious to anyone familiar with the literature, for many authors the truth or falsity of this view is not a matter amenable to resolution by anything so mundane as reference to historical experience. For such analysts, this view is true by definition. The analyst using this perspective first "assumes" it to be true and then "demonstrates" that it is true by citing data that support it (Cardoso and Faletto, 1979: x).

The publication of the English edition of Cardoso and Faletto (1979) is a "happening," an "event." Consider the following:Of all the approachesto development, particularly Latin American development, of the last fifteen years, none has had deeper or more pervasive influence, especially in the United States, than the dependency perspective.