Tradizione Giuridica Occidentale E Modernizzazione Latinoamericana. Petrolio, Democrazia E Capitalismo Nell'Esperienza Venezuelana (Western Legal Tradition and Latin American Modernization. Oil, Democracy and Capitalism in Venezuala)

Alessandro Somma 

University of Ferrara - Law Department
2012

Rechtsgeschichte - Legal History 20 (2012). 190-207 
Abstract:      
Latin America, where capitalist and democratic institutions advanced slowly, is usually considered as the periphery of the Western Legal Tradition. However, historical evidence is given that even in Europe and North Amercia capitalism often established authoritarian or totalitarian political systems. Moreover, those who describe Latin American capitalism as less developed than the Western one, neglect that so called underdevelopment was at least partially imposed; they also ignore that what is meant by underdevelopment may also be seen as an alternative modernity program. The history and legal history of Venezuela in the first half of the past century shows that deficiencies in democracy were due to theories and practices which were widespread within the Western Legal Tradition; it also offers examples for considering some peculiarities in the development of capitalism as part of an original path to modernity, rather than a bad copy of it.

Note: Downloadable document is in Italian.

Number of Pages in PDF File: 20

Keywords: Modernization, Latin America, Multiple modernities

Full text available at: http://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=2231518