TABLE OF CONTENTS
ABSTRACT
PREFACE: 1
Theories of underdevelopment, dependency, development and
world system: limitations.-Methodology.-The agrarian
structure and the HACIENDA.-The feudal manor and the
HACIENDA.-Unlimited sources of labour.-The current stage
of development.
FIRST SECTION:
THE MAKING OF A NEW SOCIAL FORMATION: 38
The stage of emergence, development and
consolidation of the colonial system in
Latin America.
CHAPTER ONE: 47
Merchant's capital.- The conditions of collision
and dissolution.-The actors: the Maya empire, the
Aztec empire, the Inca empire, Spain's Absolutist
State.
CHAPTER TW0: 85
The collision, dissolution and fusion of two
modes of production.
CHAPTER THREE: 118
Development.-The HACIENDA system.-The social
pyramid.
SECOND SECTION:
TOWARDS A THEORY OF LATIN AMERICA'S "UNDERDEVELOPMENT" 157
Some fundamentals: the concept of classes.-
The concept of limits.
CHAPTER ONE: 161
Independence and after.-Economic Structure.-
The economic viability of an industrial revolution
in Latin America in the 1800s.-Social structure.-
Backwardness as a system.-Consolidation of the
hacendados.
CHAPTER TWO: 190
Production, distribution, exchange and
consumption.-A fractured system of production.-
A fractured system of distribution.-A fractured
social structure.-The role of the Army.-
A critical assessment.
CHAPTER THREE: 242
The role of U.S. imperialism in Latin America
CONCLUSION 252
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FOOTNOTES 261
BIBLIOGRAPHY 296
ABSTRACT
It is argued that, so far, all theories of the Latin American process
have been biased by an external approach. Examining the theoretical
foundations of these theories, it is concluded that these cannot
explain the class and production structures existing in the region,
neither can predict the emergence of qualitatively new phenomena.
Having criticised the discourses of underdevelopment, dependency,
development ( modernization ), and world system theories, the
analysis then proceeds with the argument that a theory of the Latin
American process must conceptualize the social organization of the
continent as an entity in itself, and not as an appendage to the
development of capitalism in the industrialized countries. Such a
theory must be centered on the internal dynamics of the Latin
American social structure, and then assess the actual role played
by capitalism and imperialism in its policy.
It is argued that Latin American development, as based on a restricted,
limited, and upper-class oriented type of market, and a fragmented
society, is possible because it corresponds to a particular
organization of the labour process, which, in turn, is the product of
a particular mode of production. This particular mode of production
is the outcome of the fusion of different modes of production in
the region. In this context, the international capitalist system
-at its imperialist stage- is not a cause, but a profiteer and
supporter of the contemporary social structure in Latin America.
This particular organization of the labour process sets the
boundaries ( limits ) within which Latin America's social structure,
political organization and organization of labour can vary. At an
abstract level, it is argued, unlike some modern Marxian scholars,
that even when the relations of production are the genesis of the
social structure, the latter can, in some historical situations,
persist after the former subside, and adapt themselves to new forms
of relations of production.
It is concluded that the main barrier to development in the region
lies not in its economic structure but in its social structure.
Therefore, revolutionary change there must start at the social
level, political level that is, and not at the economic level.
The thesis is a starting point for further field research,
aiming to construct a general theory of the social and economic
reality of Latin America.
Robinson Rojas, London, 1984
(Robinson Rojas, "Latin America: Blockages to Development", London,
PhD dissertation, 1984)
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