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Rumbo a la Libertad: por qué la izquierda y el "neoliberalismo" fracasan en América Latina
Este libro procura dar respuesta a una pregunta central: Por qué las reformas de mercado de fines del siglo XX, festejadas en su día como modelo para los países subdesarrollados, han fracasado en América latina? Vargas Llosa sostiene que todos los intentos de reforma hasta la fecha han fracasado por lo que define como "los cinco principios de la opresión": corporativismo, mercantilismo de Estado, privilegio, redistribución de abajo hacia arriba, politización del derecho. Luego de examinar la herencia del pasado, analiza las reformas de los años 90, explicando por qué ellas fueron incapaces deliberar a los ciudadanos de un Estado empeñado en interferir en la vida de la gente, repartir monopolios y prebendas, atrofiar el genio creador de la sociedad y entorpecer las instituciones populares. Concluye con una propuesta de reforma radical para transferir el poder a los ciudadanos en todos las órdenes y devolverles la soberanía individual.
- GenresPoliticsNonfiction
344 pages, Paperback
First published February 16, 2005
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Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews
July 7, 2021
I came across this book as I was researching the nascent liberty movement in Latin America. 'Liberty for Latin America' was recommended on one of the sites supporting the movement, because it has motivated many to support concepts of liberty in Latin America.
I can't speak to the accuracy of his portrayal of Latam, since I do not have an in-depth understanding of the region's history. Still, I enjoyed the narrative he wove through the causes for perpetual disappointment of latin american growth so far, and what the region could do to fix it. His analysis and perspective are formed through a classic liberal capitalist belief system.
His key idea is that Latin American development is, at its root, held back by the original institutional structures brought by the Spanish monarchy. This form of government and its institutions are rooted in five concepts: corporatism, mercantilism, privilege, wealth transfer and political law. Essentially these five principles create a state that considers groups/classes of people rather than individuals and determines the relationships between these groups, which creates privileged groups who benefit at the expense of others. These conditions have been perpetuated since colonization, although the constraints are becoming looser with time.
He compares this original LatAm governance structure to that of American settlers who formed a bottom up and decentralized community from the start, centered on the individual's ability to make economic decisions and voluntarily form and dissolve groups. He attributes Latin America's underdevelopment to the lack of focus on individuals' freedom to make decisions for themselves.
There is potential for economic growth if the government could get out of the way of individuals. In LatAm there is a large black economy through which people are fighting for economic survival. The government's inability to recognise the institutions and economy created from the bottom up is holding back growth because the role played by government, enforcing property rights and providing legal infrastructure, is lacking. That is not to say it is missing because the communities have created their own mechanisms for dispute resolution which speaks to nature of economies: they emerge from the bottom up.
He argues that neoliberal reform implemented through the 90's were targetted at the symptoms of underdevelopment: lack of markets, state-owned companies, deficits and monetization. Combating these symptoms is helpful but doesn't solve the root of the problem. Neoliberal reform created new elites who gained privilege and opportunities not available to the rest of the people. He gives examples of the privatization of a number of companies which transferred monopolies to an economic elite and created a dependency between politicians and corporate executives.
He believes the only way to solve the development problem is to lift constraints on everyday people's ability to accumulate capital and to feel protected by the government, citing legal reform and independence as a necessary condition.
The book was inspiring and sparked an interest in Latin America for me. It makes you wonder what could happen to LatAm and in particular Brazil if this liberal movement gains traction. The next step after reading this book will be to learn more about the history of the region and poke holes into his ideas. After all, Argentina was once one of the liberal capitalist countries but he barely discusses what happened there. Maybe because it doesn't fit in with his narrative?
I can't speak to the accuracy of his portrayal of Latam, since I do not have an in-depth understanding of the region's history. Still, I enjoyed the narrative he wove through the causes for perpetual disappointment of latin american growth so far, and what the region could do to fix it. His analysis and perspective are formed through a classic liberal capitalist belief system.
His key idea is that Latin American development is, at its root, held back by the original institutional structures brought by the Spanish monarchy. This form of government and its institutions are rooted in five concepts: corporatism, mercantilism, privilege, wealth transfer and political law. Essentially these five principles create a state that considers groups/classes of people rather than individuals and determines the relationships between these groups, which creates privileged groups who benefit at the expense of others. These conditions have been perpetuated since colonization, although the constraints are becoming looser with time.
He compares this original LatAm governance structure to that of American settlers who formed a bottom up and decentralized community from the start, centered on the individual's ability to make economic decisions and voluntarily form and dissolve groups. He attributes Latin America's underdevelopment to the lack of focus on individuals' freedom to make decisions for themselves.
There is potential for economic growth if the government could get out of the way of individuals. In LatAm there is a large black economy through which people are fighting for economic survival. The government's inability to recognise the institutions and economy created from the bottom up is holding back growth because the role played by government, enforcing property rights and providing legal infrastructure, is lacking. That is not to say it is missing because the communities have created their own mechanisms for dispute resolution which speaks to nature of economies: they emerge from the bottom up.
He argues that neoliberal reform implemented through the 90's were targetted at the symptoms of underdevelopment: lack of markets, state-owned companies, deficits and monetization. Combating these symptoms is helpful but doesn't solve the root of the problem. Neoliberal reform created new elites who gained privilege and opportunities not available to the rest of the people. He gives examples of the privatization of a number of companies which transferred monopolies to an economic elite and created a dependency between politicians and corporate executives.
He believes the only way to solve the development problem is to lift constraints on everyday people's ability to accumulate capital and to feel protected by the government, citing legal reform and independence as a necessary condition.
The book was inspiring and sparked an interest in Latin America for me. It makes you wonder what could happen to LatAm and in particular Brazil if this liberal movement gains traction. The next step after reading this book will be to learn more about the history of the region and poke holes into his ideas. After all, Argentina was once one of the liberal capitalist countries but he barely discusses what happened there. Maybe because it doesn't fit in with his narrative?
May 17, 2019
This was interesting, thought incomplete, book. Vargas Llosa seeks to give the reader the reasons behind the perpetual failure of the “reforms” in Latin America. By starting with a concise historical perspective, he tries to frame some pernicious habits of Latin American governments in terms of the historical legacies left by exploitative native empires and even more exploitative colonial regimes. In this part, the reader cannot help but be surprised at Vargas Llosa’s decision to skip any discussion as to why these pernicious legacies were not as perennial in other parts of the globe with equally, if not heavier, historical baggage. Likewise, while the reader is quickly made aware of the rightward tilt of Vargas Llosa’s biases, they will still be surprise by how much faith he places in the market forces. Even during the capitalist reforms of the 1990s, Vargas Llosa argues that they failed because the role of government was still too large and practically annulled any effect of the market liberalizations. Overall, while the book serves as a quick recap of the current situation of Latin America, with particular skill at demonstrating how the dominant elites have remained in power through several reforms, the book falls a little flat in its call for drastically reducing the size of government and letting the “efficient” hand of the market solve all.
January 14, 2018
Incredibly organized and written book. It would help if the reader is familiar with Latin American history and prominent figures (Llosa does a great job in describing histories, but I did have to Google a few of the figures). Under "A book I've been meaning to read but haven't got to" and I finally did and one I'll continue to study.
July 3, 2009
The 5 pillars of oppression: corportaism, state mercantilism, privelege, wealth transfer, political law
Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews