The latin american contributions to critical development theory

Abstract

In this article I explore the genealogy of the crucial contribution which Latin American social scientists made to development studies during the second half of the twentieth century. The structuralists, through their centre-periphery paradigm, disputed the conventional theory of international trade which had been proposed the theorists from the North. In turn, dependency theorists critiqued the orthodox interpretations of underdevelopment, such as those proposed by modernization theorists, also mainly from the North. It is important to distinguish between two strands within dependency theory. One emerged from a process of self-criticism by structuralists and the other had its roots in critical Marxism. With the rise of neoliberalism some dependency structuralists developed neostructuralism while some Marxist dependentistas developed world-system theory. The ideas of structuralist and dependency thinkers generated fierce debates. They were able to challenge their orthodox and Northern-centric theories and propose an alternative critical theory of development from the South.