Celso Furtado – författare

Written originally to provide the Brazilian non-specialist with a readable economic survey of his country, this book will be of particular interest to the English-speaking economist and historian for its authoritative assessment of the influence of various factors--political, social, geographical, fiscal, monetary--on Brazil's economic growth and capital formation. The author analyzes the importance of the export agricultural interests, deficit financing, inflation, and the fluctuations of the world coffee market.

Development and Underdevelopment is a thought-provoking exploration of the economic challenges faced by underdeveloped nations and the intellectual journey required to understand and address them. Compiling studies conducted over a decade, the book critiques traditional economic theories, including classical, Keynesian, and Marxist thought, highlighting their limitations and contributions to the analysis of underdevelopment. The author emphasizes the necessity of integrating structural and historical approaches to economic analysis, offering insights into the unique dynamics that shape underdeveloped economies. By addressing specific growth mechanisms, industrial origins, and the socio-economic factors inhibiting progress, this work seeks to redefine the field of economic thought for a world grappling with persistent inequalities.Through a series of detailed chapters, the book examines the evolution of development theory, the mechanisms driving growth, and the historical context that underpins modern economic systems. It culminates in a focused discussion on the distinct challenges of underdevelopment, offering a roadmap for identifying structural factors and fostering effective economic planning. Written for a new generation of economists, policymakers, and thinkers, Development and Underdevelopment serves as both a critique and a call to action, urging innovative approaches to understand and transform the global economic landscape.This title is part of UC Press's Voices Revived program, which commemorates University of California Press’s mission to seek out and cultivate the brightest minds and give them voice, reach, and impact. Drawing on a backlist dating to 1893, Voices Revived makes high-quality, peer-reviewed scholarship accessible once again using print-on-demand technology. This title was originally published in 1964.

Diagnosis of the Brazilian Crisis delves into the complexities of Brazil’s socio-economic challenges during a turbulent period of its history, offering a critical perspective on the role and responsibility of intellectuals in times of national crisis. The author explores the betrayal of intellectual responsibility—through both action and inaction—by those capable of providing clarity and foresight amid political and social upheaval. With a sharp critique of the misuse of experimental science for political ends and the failure of social scientists to prevent detrimental public policies, the work underscores the unique responsibility of intellectuals to rise above societal constraints and champion rationality and human dignity.Compiled in the immediate aftermath of a near-declaration of emergency in Brazil in 1963, the essays in this volume attempt to dissect the roots of underdevelopment and the causes of Brazil’s crisis. Through a blend of urgency and rigor, the author examines the role of group loyalties, cultural ties, and intellectual ethics in shaping national progress. With a focus on Brazil’s specific struggles, Diagnosis of the Brazilian Crisis is both a call to action for intellectuals and a framework for understanding the broader implications of underdevelopment and societal responsibility.This title is part of UC Press's Voices Revived program, which commemorates University of California Press’s mission to seek out and cultivate the brightest minds and give them voice, reach, and impact. Drawing on a backlist dating to 1893, Voices Revived makes high-quality, peer-reviewed scholarship accessible once again using print-on-demand technology. This title was originally published in 1965.

Development and Underdevelopment is a thought-provoking exploration of the economic challenges faced by underdeveloped nations and the intellectual journey required to understand and address them. Compiling studies conducted over a decade, the book critiques traditional economic theories, including classical, Keynesian, and Marxist thought, highlighting their limitations and contributions to the analysis of underdevelopment. The author emphasizes the necessity of integrating structural and historical approaches to economic analysis, offering insights into the unique dynamics that shape underdeveloped economies. By addressing specific growth mechanisms, industrial origins, and the socio-economic factors inhibiting progress, this work seeks to redefine the field of economic thought for a world grappling with persistent inequalities.Through a series of detailed chapters, the book examines the evolution of development theory, the mechanisms driving growth, and the historical context that underpins modern economic systems. It culminates in a focused discussion on the distinct challenges of underdevelopment, offering a roadmap for identifying structural factors and fostering effective economic planning. Written for a new generation of economists, policymakers, and thinkers, Development and Underdevelopment serves as both a critique and a call to action, urging innovative approaches to understand and transform the global economic landscape.This title is part of UC Press's Voices Revived program, which commemorates University of California Press’s mission to seek out and cultivate the brightest minds and give them voice, reach, and impact. Drawing on a backlist dating to 1893, Voices Revived makes high-quality, peer-reviewed scholarship accessible once again using print-on-demand technology. This title was originally published in 1964.

Diagnosis of the Brazilian Crisis delves into the complexities of Brazil’s socio-economic challenges during a turbulent period of its history, offering a critical perspective on the role and responsibility of intellectuals in times of national crisis. The author explores the betrayal of intellectual responsibility—through both action and inaction—by those capable of providing clarity and foresight amid political and social upheaval. With a sharp critique of the misuse of experimental science for political ends and the failure of social scientists to prevent detrimental public policies, the work underscores the unique responsibility of intellectuals to rise above societal constraints and champion rationality and human dignity.Compiled in the immediate aftermath of a near-declaration of emergency in Brazil in 1963, the essays in this volume attempt to dissect the roots of underdevelopment and the causes of Brazil’s crisis. Through a blend of urgency and rigor, the author examines the role of group loyalties, cultural ties, and intellectual ethics in shaping national progress. With a focus on Brazil’s specific struggles, Diagnosis of the Brazilian Crisis is both a call to action for intellectuals and a framework for understanding the broader implications of underdevelopment and societal responsibility.This title is part of UC Press's Voices Revived program, which commemorates University of California Press’s mission to seek out and cultivate the brightest minds and give them voice, reach, and impact. Drawing on a backlist dating to 1893, Voices Revived makes high-quality, peer-reviewed scholarship accessible once again using print-on-demand technology. This title was originally published in 1965.

This is an introductory survey of the history and recent development of Latin American economy and society from colonial times to the establishment of the military regime in Chile. In the second edition the historical perspective has been enlarged and important events since the Cuban Revolution, such as the agrarian reforms of Peru and Chile, the difficulties of the Central America Common Market and LAFTA, the acceleration of industrialisation in Brazil and the consolidation of the Cuban economy, are discussed. The statistical information has been extended to the early 1970s and the demographic data to 1975.

This classic work remains one of the most incisive contributions to dependency theory in the Latin American context. While agreeing with other dependency theorists that underdevelopment on the Latin America periphery was structurally connected to the accumulation of capital in the advanced economies at the core of the global capitalist system, Furtado went further and argued that the very idea of development in the periphery is a myth, deceiving countries into focusing on narrow economic factors such as the rate of investment and the volume of exports to the detriment of their human well-being. Moreover, the costs of development in terms of environmental destruction would be catastrophic for the planet: the idea that the poor in Latin America and elsewhere might someday enjoy the livelihoods of today’s rich people is unrealizable in practice, and any attempt to generalize the lifestyles of the world’s well-off would lead to the collapse of civilization. Adhering to the ideas of development and progress is not only misleading: it is also a form of cultural domination that stifles creativity and blocks the imagination of alternative life forms that would be better aligned to the conditions of life in Latin America and elsewhere. This prescient analysis of economic development and underdevelopment in Latin America retains its relevance today and will be of interest to anyone concerned with issues of political economy and culture in the Global South, as well as students and scholars in political economy, development studies, Latin American Studies and critical theory.

This classic work remains one of the most incisive contributions to dependency theory in the Latin American context. While agreeing with other dependency theorists that underdevelopment on the Latin America periphery was structurally connected to the accumulation of capital in the advanced economies at the core of the global capitalist system, Furtado went further and argued that the very idea of development in the periphery is a myth, deceiving countries into focusing on narrow economic factors such as the rate of investment and the volume of exports to the detriment of their human well-being. Moreover, the costs of development in terms of environmental destruction would be catastrophic for the planet: the idea that the poor in Latin America and elsewhere might someday enjoy the livelihoods of today’s rich people is unrealizable in practice, and any attempt to generalize the lifestyles of the world’s well-off would lead to the collapse of civilization. Adhering to the ideas of development and progress is not only misleading: it is also a form of cultural domination that stifles creativity and blocks the imagination of alternative life forms that would be better aligned to the conditions of life in Latin America and elsewhere. This prescient analysis of economic development and underdevelopment in Latin America retains its relevance today and will be of interest to anyone concerned with issues of political economy and culture in the Global South, as well as students and scholars in political economy, development studies, Latin American Studies and critical theory.