Samuelson on Populist Democracy, Fascist Capitalism and the Vicissitudes of South American Economic Development (1948–1997)

Mauro Boianovsky

A chapter in Research in the History of Economic Thought and Methodology: Including a Selection of Papers Presented at the 2019 ALAHPE Conference, 2021, vol. 39A, pp 7-41 from Emerald Group Publishing Limited

Abstract: Paul Samuelson was attracted to the irregular economic development pattern of some South American countries because of the links between economic performance and political factors. He discussed the influence of “populist democracy” on Argentina’s relative economic stagnation, which, he argued in the 1970s and early 1980s, served as a dangerous paradigm for the American economy under stagflation. Stagflation phenomena marked the end of Samuelson’s “neoclassical synthesis.” Moreover, he applied his concept of “capitalist fascism” to deal with military dictatorships in Brazil and (especially) in Chile. The Brazilian translation of his Economicsin 1973 brought about a correspondence with Brazilian economists about the “fascist” features of the regime. The main variable behind the South American economic and politically unstable processes discussed by Samuelson was economic inequality, which became also a conspicuous feature of the American economy since the adoption of market-based policies in the 1980s and after.

Keywords: B22; O11; Samuelson; populism; capitalist fascism; South America; inequality; economic development (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2021
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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:eme:rhetzz:s0743-41542021000039a002

DOI: 10.1108/S0743-41542021000039A002

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