![]() ![]() Analyzing nine groups, Imaz concludes that Argentina has no power elite. Imaz studies Argentine power groups of the period 1936-1961 to determine their composition, social background, and connecting links, using statistical data gathered from both published and oral sources. In contrast to the interpretive, psychologically oriented studies of Mafud and Sebrelli, José Luis de Imaz and Torcuato Di Tella and collaborators draw upon the theories developed by Seymour Lipset, C. Although overlooking phenomena that do not support his thesis, such as nationalism or the social club, Mafud makes a strong case for psychological and social isolation as factors contributing to present-day Argentine problems. He thinks that this isolation must end if Argentina is to achieve social and economic integration. Mafud, echoing Raúl Scalabrini Ortiz in El hombre que está solo y espera, published in 1931, finds an isolation of the individual in Argentine society which manifests itself in egoism (yoismo) and viveza. Later sections on the impact of capitalism and imperialism, society, institutions, law, political parties, and social integration lack force and appear colored by ideological prejudices. The first six chapters, describing the individual and his relationships with groups, although repetitive, are the best. He skillfully draws on chroniclers, novelists, and memoirs, as well as personal observation, to build a picture of criollo character. To do this, he examines the relationships of the individual to other individuals, to collective groups, to society, to the state, and to external factors. Julio Mafud attempts to determine the Argentine collective personality through a historical survey tracing the development of sixteen salient character traits. He documents his argument from the Kinsey Report, whose relevance to Argentine society only independent investigation could determine. He dwells, for example, on sexual aberrations (a fetish which mars the work throughout) to prove middle-class Argentines frustrated, anxiety-ridden, and fearful. He sees this alliance crumbling during the Perón period, and concludes by prophesying a merger of the lumpenproletariat and the proletariat to force a society based on equality and full participation for all.Īlthough his observations on the manners and mores of Buenos Aires society reveal a sharp and observant mind, Sebrelli’s analysis is frequently supported by questionable evidence. Couching his analysis in Marxist terms, he postulates the existence of an unwritten alliance between the aristocracy and middle classes, the latter unwilling agents of the former, struggling to maintain social distance below and to close the gap above. Sebrelli seeks to describe the social and psychological characteristics of the aristocracy, the upper and lower middle classes, and the proletariat. Both support their analyses with historical documentation. Juan José Sebrelli and Julio Mafud analyze contemporary Argentine society, each presenting an interpretation of the dominant factors in that society. The four books under review reflect this trend. Their attempts to discover the “why” and “how” of economic growth, social change, and societal development within a historical context has added a new and promising dimension to Latin American historiography. Argentine scholars during the past fifteen years have increasingly sought to apply to the phenomena of Argentine history the analytical tools and hypotheses developed by sociologists, political scientists, and economists. ![]()
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