Tuesday, January 6, 2009

A Propensity to Self Subversion or The Third Wave of Modernization in Latin America

A Propensity to Self-Subversion

Author: Albert O Hirschman

Albert O. Hirschman is renowned worldwide for theories that have been at the forefront of political economics during the last half century. In these twenty essays he casts his sharp analytical eye on his own ideas, questioning and qualifying some of his major propositions on social change and economic development. Hirschman's self-subversion, as well as the self-affirmation that is also present here, reveal the workings of a distinguished mind. They also bring us fresh perspective on the material in his twelve previous books and countless essays.
In the substantial essays that open this collection, Hirschman reappraises points he made in such books as Exit, Voice, and Loyalty, The Strategy of Economic Development, and The Rhetoric of Reaction. Subsequent essays fruitfully reexplore the themes of Latin American development and market society that have occupied him throughout his career. Hirschman also forays into new puzzles, such as the likely impact, negative or otherwise, of the Eastern European revolutions of 1989 on the Third World, the on-and-off connections between political and economic progress, and the role of conflict in enhancing community spirit in a liberal democracy.

In a rare and particularly welcome section of the book, Hirschman presents autobiographical fragments that reflect his deep involvement in some of the important events of this century. He recollects his flight from Hitler's Germany in 1933, his studies in Paris, his work with the antifascist underground in Italy in 1937-38, and his role in helping Varian Fry in Marseilles, in 1940, to rescue political and intellectual refugees from Vichy France. Such accounts deepen ourunderstanding of how Hirschman's penetrating insights took shape.

Booknews

Kapur (clinical psychology, National Institute of Mental Health and Neurosciences, Bangalore) seeks to sensitize people who work with children in India to various aspects of mental health. His focus is the internal or external distress that warp psychosocial development rather than mental disability. He describes and evaluates assessment and therapeutic techniques, discusses several specific disorders, and surveys the social environment in which Indian children grow up. No index. Annotation c. Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)



Table of Contents:
Introduction1
1Exit, Voice, and the Fate of the German Democratic Republic9
2The Rhetoric of Reaction - Two Years Later45
3The Case against "One Thing at a Time"69
4Opinionated Opinions and Democracy77
5A Propensity to Self-Subversion85
6Four Reencounters95
7My Father and Weltanschauung, circa 1928111
8Studies in Paris, 1933-1935113
9Doubt and Antifascist Action in Italy, 1936-1938117
10With Varian Fry in Marseilles, 1940120
11Escaping over the Pyrences, 1940-41123
12A Hidden Ambition127
13Convergences with Michel Crozier132
14How the Keynesian Revolution Was Exported from the United States139
15On the Political Economy of Latin American Development154
16Is the End of the Cold War a Disaster for the Third World?189
17Industrialization and Its Manifold Discontents: West, East, and South197
18Does the Market Keep Us Out of Mischief or Out of Happiness?213
19The On-and-Off Connection between Political and Economic Progress221
20Social Conflicts as Pillars of Democratic Market Societies231
Acknowledgments249
Index251

Look this: Environmental Management and Business Strategy or African Economic History

The Third Wave of Modernization in Latin America (Jaguar Books on Latin America Series): Cultural Perspectives on Neoliberalism

Author: Lynne Phillips

The term "modernization" has been used extensively in Latin America since the post-World War II period to describe the promotion of Western worldviews and consumption patterns. The term is being used in the 1990s in conjunction with the neoliberal pressure placed upon the region to develop "modern" states and markets to be integrated into the world economy. Professor Lynne Phillips offers an anthropological perspective on Latin America's most recent phase of modernization and its costs to social relations and traditional ways of life. Because people's lives are placed at center stage, a human dimension is brought to the study of the modernization process. Written in accessible language, The Third Wave of Modernization in Latin America analyzes a wide variety of themes, from rural and urban poverty to environmental and cultural identity issues. Each chapter, authored exclusively for this volume, concentrates on a particular country. Included are case studies of organizations that have been influenced by current neoliberal policies; critical perspectives on restructuring, free trade, and modernization; an overview of Latin America's recent past to explain why neoliberalism has become a predominant policy in the region; and analyses of the environment, women's issues, and native communities in the context of modernization.

Booknews

Addresses a variety of themes from rural and urban poverty to environmental and cultural identity issues. Each of the nine chapters, authored exclusively for this volume, concentrates on a particular country. Coverage includes case studies of organizations that have been influenced by current neoliberal policies; critical perspectives on restructuring free trade; an overview of Latin America's recent past to explain why neoliberalism has become a predominant policy; and analyzes the environment, women's issues, and native communities in the context of modernization. Paper edition (unseen), $17.95. Annotation c. by Book News, Inc., Portland, Or.



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