Capitalist Development and the State: Bases and Alternatives

The more developed countries of Latin America are attempting to define foreign policy objectives which take advantage of contradictions in the international order and allow these countries some independent policymaking. But these countries remain dependent and assure an internal social order favorable to capitalist interests and consequently fail to challenge one of the basic objectives of American foreign policy. Multinational enterprises continue to receive support from the foreign policies of their countries of origin, as well as from local states. How can these contradictory forces act together? It is through contradictions that the historical process unfolds. Dependent development occurs through frictions, accords, and alliances between the State and business enterprises. But this type of development also occurs because both the State and business enterprises pursue policies which form markets based on the concentration of incomes and on the social exclusion of majorities. These processes demand a basic unity between these two historical actors as they confront popular opposition which may be activated when nationalist or socialist movements question the existing social order. So, the conflicts between the State and Big Business are not as antagonistic as the contradictions between dominant classes and people.