The importance of political participation for sustained capitalist development
- 1 May 1985
- journal article
- Published by Cambridge University Press (CUP) in European Journal of Sociology
- Vol. 26 (1) , 93-127
- https://doi.org/10.1017/s0003975600004355
Abstract
The problem facing most of the Third World today is no longer how to launch development, but rather how to sustain it. Consider the colossal disappointments, after 150 years of independence, of Brazil, Mexico, Uruguay, Colombia, Venezuela, Costa Rica, Nicaragua, El Salvador, and Peru — and the debacle of Argentina. Recall the historic leadership which set Egypt, Thailand, and Turkey on their drives to modernization fully a century ago: now, nearly stagnant. Contrast the economic promise inherited from the colonial period and the determination and unbounded elan inspired by independence with today's languor in India, Kenya, and Malaysia, the listlessness of Zimbabwe, Indonesia, The Philippines, and North Africa: indeed, the failures of Ghana and Nigeria. The issue is no longer how to assure political stability — but even with stability, how to foster steady development whose gains will accrue and whose momentum can be sustained.Keywords
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