Florestan Fernandes and “dependent capitalism”

Abstract

This article to present a contribution by the Brazilian sociologist Florestan Fernandes in the scope of the dependency theory produced when he was in exile in North America. There are three essays presented at scientific meetings in the field of Sociology that address the general theme of “dependent capitalism”, with different approaches and that were published in Brazil, in 1973, in book format with the title of dependent capitalism and social classes in America Latin. The first deals with the patterns of external domination exercised over Latin America; the second tries to present the nature of “dependent capitalism” and its relation to the constitution of social classes; the third talks about the insertion of the sociologist in the context of “dependent capitalism”. The article exposes Florestan Fernandes’ ideas, interspersing some observations about the methodology used and the implications of the conclusions offered. At the end, a synthesis of the criticisms made to the elaboration of the Brazilian sociologist is presented, whose fulcrum is exactly the analytical limit of structural functionalism retouched with Max Weber’s categories, a theoretical-methodological conception that surrounds the reflection on political action aimed at the socialist revolution boldly defended by the author.