Publisher Description

If social science's "cultural turn" has taught us anything, it is that knowledge is constrained by the time and place in which it is produced. In response, scholars have begun to reassess social theory from the standpoints of groups and places outside of the European context upon which most grand theory is based. Here a distinguished group of scholars reevaluates widely accepted theories of state, property, race, and economics against Latin American experiences with a two-fold purpose. They seek to deepen our understanding of Latin America and the problems it faces. And, by testing social science paradigms against a broader variety of cases, they pursue a better and truly generalizable map of the social world. Bringing universal theory into dialogue with specific history, the contributors consider what forms Latin American variations of classical themes might take and which theories are most useful in describing Latin America.For example, the Argentinian experience reveals the limitations of neoclassical descriptions of economic development, but Charles Tilly's emphasis on the importance of war and collective action to statemaking holds up well when thoughtfully adapted to Latin American situations.Marxist structural analysis is problematic in a region where political divisions do not fully expresses class cleavages, but aspects of Karl Polanyi's socioeconomic theory cross borders with relative ease. This fresh theoretical discussion expands the scope of Latin American studies and social theory, bringing the two into an unprecedented conversation that will benefit both. Contributors are, in addition to the editors, Jeremy Adelman, Jorge I. Dominguez, Paul Gootenberg, Alan Knight, Robert M. Levine, Claudio Lomnitz, John Markoff, Veronica Montecinos, Steven C. Topik, and J. Samuel Valenzuela.

Notes

No previous review of theory comes close to this book's range and daring. Its audience should include not only Latin Americanists, but students of social theory and of development in general. -- Charles Tilly, Columbia University The Other Mirror succeeds in providing a highly stimulating account of the dialectics between general theory and history. It will have a much-needed positive impact on Latin American studies and its place in general social theory. -- Mauricio A. Font, The Graduate Center and Queens College, City University of New York

Back Cover

"No previous review of theory comes close to this book's range and daring. Its audience should include not only Latin Americanists, but students of social theory and of development in general."--Charles Tilly, Columbia University "The Other Mirrorsucceeds in providing a highly stimulating account of the dialectics between general theory and history. It will have a much-needed positive impact on Latin American studies and its place in general social theory."--Mauricio A. Font, The Graduate Center and Queens College, City University of New York

Author Biography

Miguel Angel Centeno is Associate Professor of Sociology at Princeton University. He is the author of Mexico in the 1990s: Government and Opposition Speak Out and Democracy Within Reason: Technocratic Revolution in Mexico.
Fernando Lpez-Alves is Associate Professor of Political Science at the University of California, Santa Barbara. He is the author of Between the Economy and the Polity in the River Plate and State Formation and Democracy in Latin America: 1810-1900.

Table of Contents

PREFACE ix CONTRIBUTORS xi INTRODUCTION: Miguel Angel Centeno and Fernando Lopez-Alves PART I: Creating an Economy 25 CHAPTER ONE Jeremy Adelman: Institutions, Property, and Economic Development in Latin America 27 CHAPTER TWO Paul Gootenberg: Hijos of Dr. Gerschenkron: "Latecomer" Conceptions in Latin American Economic History 55 CHAPTER THREE Steven Topik: Karl Polanyi and the Creation of the "Market Society" 81 CHAPTER FOUR Veronica Montecinos and John Markoff: From the Power of Economic Ideas to the Power of Economists 105 PART II: The State and Democracy 151 CHAPTER FIVE Fernando Lopez-Alves: The Transatlantic Bridge: Mirrors, Charles Tilly, and State Formation in the River Plate 153 CHAPTER SIX Alan Knight: The Modern Mexican State: Theory and Practice 177 CHAPTER SEVEN Jorge I. Dominguez: Samuel Huntington and the Latin American State 219 CHAPTER EIGHT J. Samuel Valenzuela: Class Relations and Democratization: A Reassessment of Barrington Moore's Model 240 PART III: Living and Belonging 287 CHAPTER NINE Miguel Angel Centeno: The Disciplinary Society in Latin America 289 CHAPTER TEN Robert M. Levine: Michel de Certeau and Latin America 309 CHAPTER ELEVEN Claudio Lomnitz: Nationalism as a Practical System: Benedict Anderson's Theory of Nationalism from the Vantage Point of Spanish America 329 INDEX 361

Review

"No previous review of theory comes close to this book's range and daring. Its audience should include not only Latin Americanists, but students of social theory and of development in general."—Charles Tilly, Columbia University
"The Other Mirror succeeds in providing a highly stimulating account of the dialectics between general theory and history. It will have a much-needed positive impact on Latin American studies and its place in general social theory."—Mauricio A. Font, The Graduate Center and Queens College, City University of New York

Promotional

No previous review of theory comes close to this book's range and daring. Its audience should include not only Latin Americanists, but students of social theory and of development in general. -- Charles Tilly, Columbia University The Other Mirror succeeds in providing a highly stimulating account of the dialectics between general theory and history. It will have a much-needed positive impact on Latin American studies and its place in general social theory. -- Mauricio A. Font, The Graduate Center and Queens College, City University of New York

Long Description

If social science's "cultural turn" has taught us anything, it is that knowledge is constrained by the time and place in which it is produced. In response, scholars have begun to reassess social theory from the standpoints of groups and places outside of the European context upon which most grand theory is based. Here a distinguished group of scholars reevaluates widely accepted theories of state, property, race, and economics against Latin American experiences with a two-fold purpose. They seek to deepen our understanding of Latin America and the problems it faces. And, by testing social science paradigms against a broader variety of cases, they pursue a better and truly generalizable map of the social world. Bringing universal theory into dialogue with specific history, the contributors consider what forms Latin American variations of classical themes might take and which theories are most useful in describing Latin America.For example, the Argentinian experience reveals the limitations of neoclassical descriptions of economic development, but Charles Tilly's emphasis on the importance of war and collective action to statemaking holds up well when thoughtfully adapted to Latin American situations.Marxist structural analysis is problematic in a region where political divisions do not fully expresses class cleavages, but aspects of Karl Polanyi's socioeconomic theory cross borders with relative ease. This fresh theoretical discussion expands the scope of Latin American studies and social theory, bringing the two into an unprecedented conversation that will benefit both. Contributors are, in addition to the editors, Jeremy Adelman, Jorge I. Dominguez, Paul Gootenberg, Alan Knight, Robert M. Levine, Claudio Lomnitz, John Markoff, Veronica Montecinos, Steven C. Topik, and J. Samuel Valenzuela.

Review Quote

"No previous review of theory comes close to this book's range and daring. Its audience should include not only Latin Americanists, but students of social theory and of development in general." --Charles Tilly, Columbia University

Details