I appreciated your comments. You are clearly more informed than
I of the process in Brazil today, hence my cowering in the trench of
ideological banter. I think you are right about FHC's pragmatism and
ideological position. In defining a state with more social and
political space for commonfolk politicians seem forced to open that space
by deconstructing populist or welfare structures meant to protect the
masses. The relationship between political freedom and capitalism
remains an uncomfortable issue for many academics.
Victor Story
Kutztown U.
On Mon, 29 Jan 1996, Laurence Hallewell wrote:
> Prezado Michael,
> Estou passando em periodo como visiting scholar na Columbia Univbersity e
> hospedado com Lawrence Hallewell. Porisso estou dando palpite nesta
> discussao sobre FHC. A politica brasileira tem razoes que a paropria
> razao desconhece. Veja o caso da reforma do Estado. Ela esta sendo feita
> por um presidente de centro-esquerda nos moldes liberais. Porque? porque
> esta questao transcende a ideologia e exige uma boa dose de pragmatismo.
> O Estado faliu. Ponto. Para resolver os reais problemass nacionais, o
> Brasil tera que abandonar o Estado empresario e o modelo herdado da Era
> Vargas e acertar o passo com o mundo. Abrindo mais espaco para a
> sociedade civil e deixando o governo com suas funcoes classicas e onde
> ele e insubstituivel. Claro que nao se trata de deixar o mercado
> resolveer todos os problemas. Mas reorganizar as responsabilidades para
> com o do desenvolvimento. A melhora de vida para os milhoes de
> brasileiros excluidos so vira depois das reformas estruturais, incluindo
> ai a agraria, que transcende a vontade imediatista de alguns movimentos
> politicos. Joao Paulo.
>
> On Mon, 29 Jan 1996, Michael D Shellenberger wrote:
>
> > Victor,
> >
> > Certainly getting involved in politics in Brazil is admirable, as is
> > writing about it, but there's nothing admirable about making an alliance
> > with the most conservative elements of society (Antonio Carlos
> > Malgalhaes, Roseane Sarney, for example) to dismantle the minimal safety
> > net erected over the past fifty years. FHC's victory, in my view,
> > prevented any major improvement in the quality of life for most
> > Brazilians. Land reform, though it is no longer the fashion in the
> > Brazilian academy, is still central to real development, and FHC is doing
> > all he can to insure it does not happen.
> >
> > Michael Shellenberger
> >
> >
> >
>