Resumen

PREBISCH, Raúl. The Latin American periphery in the global system of capitalism. El trimestre econ [online]. 2022, vol.89, n.353, pp.371-385.  Epub 13-Jun-2022. ISSN 2448-718X.  https://doi.org/10.20430/ete.v89i353.1408.

This article constitutes a tight synthesis of the main ideas of the author, which unfold in three areas closely related to each other. On the one hand, he takes up his old concern for the relations between centers and periphery, analyzing it in the light of some salient features of the contemporary situation. In his opinion, the subject has the greatest significance because the nature of these relationships conditions limits and guides the modalities and possibilities of development of the Latin American countries. On the other hand, he penetrates the study of the internal dynamics of peripheral capitalism to unravel its main components, contradictions, and tendencies. In this sense, he affirms that its internal contradictions drive peripheral capitalism towards structural crises, from which it only manages to emerge by appealing to authoritarian political regimes. From this thesis derives a conclusion that constitutes the starting point of the third area of his thought: a stable and democratic solution to these structural crises requires a profound transformation of the foundations of peripheral capitalism, especially of its predominant forms of appropriation and use of the surplus. As a contribution to the reflections on this controversial topic, it outlines the guidelines of the theory of its transformation, which are guided by the hope of finding a synthesis between liberal and socialist ideals.

Palabras llave : Center-periphery; capitalism; role of the state; economic development; structuralism.