Technological dependence and international economic relations. Fifty years after the Marxist theory of dependency

Abstract

The article deals with the analysis of technological dependence, which is considered one of the most relevant structural characteristics of Latin American dependent capitalism. Despite its importance, technological dependence has been a relatively under-studied aspect of Latin American economies by the Marxist Dependency Theory (MDT). The objective of the text is to show the relevance of MDT for the study of technological dependence as one of the factors that lead to the uneven development of the capitalist world system. Based on various indicators, the current state of science and technology production in Latin America is analyzed. Based on this review, the unequal international division of scientific-technical labor and the qualitatively different role of science and technology production in the dominant and dependent countries are explained. Likewise, the main characteristics of technological dependence are pointed out and its implications for the reproduction of peripheral capitalism are discussed, particularly in relation to two key aspects of Latin American economies: the transfer of surplus value abroad and the superexploitation of the labor-power. It is concluded that technological dependence has profound repercussions on the reproduction of dependent capitalism and contributes to the reaffirmation of the inequalities inherent in the capitalist world system.