Elites in Latin America.

by Seymour Martin Lipset; Aldo Solari Review by: Wendell Bell American Sociological Review, Vol. 33, No. 2 (Apr., 1968), pp. 313-314 Published by: American Sociological Association Stable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/2092414 . Accessed: 24/09/2012 03:16
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BOOK REVIEWS
"The topia establishesthe characteristics of stability and authority which is conformed to by the traditional institutions of a given historical period. The relative stability of the topia gradually changes until a point of instability occurs: from here surges the utopia to carry the forms of collectiveaction and popularexaltation.However, this processdoes not realizethe utopia, but brings about a new topia, due to the process of internal contradictionwhich is implicit in any humansociety. Therenow appearsa historicalperiod during which the old topia no longer exists and the new one has not been established."

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the context of the relationship of value systems to political, social, and, especially, economic development. There are four major sections dividing the book. The first on economic development and the business classes contains contributions by Seymour Martin Lipset, who discusses some general problems of the relationships between values, education, and entrepreneurship; by Luis Ratinoff who gives a useful analysis of alternative hypotheses concerning the role of (p. 22) the middle classes in development; and FerThis period is the transition phase and when it nando H. Cardoso who struggles manfully to occurs, the concept of subversion comes into bridge the gap between some broad statements play. In brief, subversion, as defined by Pro- about the industrial elite and some rather fessor Fals Borda, is the moral attempt of limited data. The second section is devoted to functional rational individuals to accelerate change towards its ultimate goal. And the ultimate goal towards elites and contains chapters by Robert E. Scott, which history directs change is a pluralistic so- Irving Louis Horowitz, Ivan Vallier, Frank ciety where freedom means that the creativity Bonilla, and Henry A. Landsberger writing reof conflict is recognized and subversion is con- spectively about political, military, religious, cultural, and labor elites. Also in this section is sidered moral. Such a theoretical position represents quite a a chapter on contemporary peasant movements departure from earlier writings of the author. by Anibal Quijano Obregon. The last two secIt largely springs from his discontent with tions deal with education and elite formation, functionalism and equilibrium models of so- the penultimate one with the university and the ciety. However, to accept rather uncritically final one with secondary schools. Here appear all the assumptions of historicism, particularly chapters by Darcy Ribeiro who, among other the holistic conception of social engineering, things, calls for the universities to "overhaul may also prove unsatisfactory. This book will themselves and transform themselves combe interesting reading for any sociologist con- pletely into responsible institutions for the recerned with societal development, and fortun- juvenation of society"; and by Luis Scherzately it is scheduled for publication in English. Garcia, who stresses the need for the univerHowever, given Professor Fals Borda's confes- sity's independence from external powers and sion that the book was written hopefully as a its autonomy as a social institution. In fact guide to social activists and their role in devel- Scherz-Garcia's position is nicely juxtaposed oping Columbian society (p. 11), it is hoped with Ribeiro's plea and underscores what might that Professor Popper's caution is recalled. be lost if the university were to become a direct "Once we realize that we cannot make heaven instrument in national development. Kenneth N. on earth but only improve matters a little, we Walker analyzes questionnaire responses conalso realize that we can only improve them little cerning democratic values of university students in Argentina, Colombia, and Puerto Rico; by little." Glaucio Ary Dillon Soares writes on intellecA. EUGENE HAVENS tual identity and political ideology among uniUniversity of Wisconsin versity students with data from Colombia and Puerto Rico; Aldo Solari discusses elite deElites in Latin America. Edited by SEYMOUR velopment in relationship to some general staLIPSET MARTIN and ALDO SOLARI. New York: tistics describing secondary education; and Oxford University Press, 1967. xii, 531 pp. Aparecida Joly Gouveia analyzes attitudinal $9.50 (Paperback, $2.95.) data collected among secondary schoolteachers A seminar held at the University of Monte- in four Brazilian states as they relate to orientavideo, Uruguay, in June 1965 has resulted in tions toward modernization. this book, the fifteen chapters of which are the In some ways the book is a disappointment. collected efforts of both North and Latin Am- The writing is not succinct. Statements are often ericans. The book is not particularly well-knit, overgeneralized. There is a paucity of good, being a mixed bag of styles and points of view, relevant data, and what data are presented are yet it achieves a measure of integration in its not always skillfully analyzed or interpreted. major theme: the recruitment, socialization, and Polemical style and ideological stance sometimes performance of Latin American elites viewed in creep into the text in lieu of explanations and

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AMERICAN SOCIOLOGICALREVIEW
stood in different terms from those that will account satisfactorily for increments of economic growth within societies. Cases of the Soviet Union, Mexico, and Puerto Rico are given as examples, and their degrees of success explained in terms of cultural rather than economic variables. The dust jacket of this book states that "by combining the discipline of the economist with the materials and tools of the sociologist, Mr. Solo has forged a fresh and individual view of societies and their economies." We learn also that the book is controversial. What we have here, then, is the world view of an apostate economist. And if it is controversial, it is so only in the world of economists where advancing exogenous factors as the primary explanation of economic issues is heresy. The strength of this work is that it considers interesting and important topics in a systematic way. It is written in reasonably good style. Much of what the author puts forward makes good sense to this reviewer. The best sections are those that relate the political economy to the growth of the Research and Development establishment. These sections adduce empirical evidence for the assertions made. But the sociologist must judge this book not on its economics, but on the author's ability to employ sociological insights in understanding the relationship between economic form and social systems. And this is not done. For example, a discussion of the cultural elements that influence the economic development of -countries makes not even passing mention of McClelland's work on national achievement motivation. Weber gets one line. This of itself does not mean that the book is bad, just that the claim about the use of sociological materials is untrue. An important weakness of the book lies in its deductive approach and the tendency to treat broad and complex topics inadequately. For example, six pages are alloted to the "economy of autonomous organizations as a social environment." The informing spirit is that of W. H. Whyte, and Packard. We learn that, "the group is powerful, but a multiplicity of groups protects the individual . . . Life manifests neither the clear hard values of individualism, nor dedication to the goals of the community. Instead of self-interest and self-responsibility there is convention ... Thought is shaped by ... yearning for the comfort of uniformity . . ." (p. 202) My argument with this sort of thing is not that it is necessarily wrong, but that it is, an irrelevant generalization resting on a shaky deductive framework. Another example concerns ". . . the debilitation and distortion of managerial motivation in regulated companies." "When the pri-

theory. Apparent contradictions sometimes end in murky complexities rather than clear resolution. But it is only fair to the authors to point out that most of them caution the reader regarding the limitations of their materials. Also, these criticisms may simply reflect the state of the art when dealing, as most of these authors do, with such general questions of both theory and social importance at the macrosociological level. From the latter point of view, the book contains much that is useful not just for the social scientist interested in Latin America, but for anyone interested in studying whole societies, elites, value systems and change. If the authors haven't given us definitive answers, they have chosen to grapple with the big questions.
WENDELL BELL

Yale University Economic Organizations and Social Systems. By ROBERT A. SOLO. Indianapolis: BobbsMerrill, 1967. xiii, 505 pp. $8.75. In this book, Mr. Solo has attempted a comprehensive description and analysis of economies. Some sections of his analysis concern the impact of economic form on the social environment, others concern the social preconditions necessary for economic development. Three individual and quite unrelated parts comprise this work. Part one postulates that economies in general can be viewed as including three major building blocks or forms. (1) The centralized market-directed form (2) The centralized political-directed form (3) The organizational market-negotiated form These are systematically described and analyzed with regard to their impact on resource allocation, potentional for economic progress, and impact on the social environment. Part two then analyzes the American economy as consisting of four forms of economic function; two new forms being added. The four are: (1) decentralized market-directed (2) organizational market-negotiating (3) decentralized market-segmented (4) price regulated public utility The analysis deals primarily with interrelationships among economic variables, but also includes discussion of the correspondence between the economic forms and such social variables as motivation for efficiency, recruitment of leadership elites, and quality of social life. Part three devotes itself to the relationship between social systems and economic development. We learn that the differential economic development of entire societies must be under-