Marcelo Caetano, from youth idealism to real politics (1906-1944): a historical-sociological theorization

Abstract

This article presents a historical-sociological theorization of Marcelo Caetano’s political career from his childhood until his arrival in government as minister of the Colonies in 1944. The article develops a crossed analysis of the social, political and ideational contexts of Marcelo’s personal, professional and political life with the objective of developing a relational analysis of his rise as an inescapable political personality of the Portuguese New State. The article identifies the main social and ideational influences in Marcelo’s initial intellectual formation and explains the transition process of the idealistic young Marcelo to the mature Marcelo who invests in a political career within the New State. Its main argument is that a more reflexive historical view of Marcelo’s political career is needed, underlining his capacity to accumulate social capital.