Speech upon Receiving the World Marxian Economics Award (II)

Abstract

I am very honored to receive World Marxian Economics Award 2013 from World Association for Political Economy (WAPE). I would like to praise efforts of large group of political economists in world who are in vanguard of fight against dominance of decadent thought (neoliberal) that takes economic theory back to 18th century, when European bourgeoisie tried to prove possibility of building an economic system based in free market, considered an ideal instrument for conversion of rational economic behavior in principle of organization of modern society. According to them this society will be realization of essence of human nature in concrete world.It is very important to we Brazilians who created our Society of Political Economy (SEP) 13 years ago, to receive your 8th Congress and to establish strong cooperation with you. At same time we are very happy to collaborate also in creation of Latin American Society of Political Economy that will be part of this common adventure in field of economic thought. All this means that we are developing an offensive that can liberate us from absurd economic policies inspired in ideological principles presented as scientific truth.Latin American thought achieved great prestige during 1960s and 1970s, when theory of dependence represented the greatest challenge faced by official Eurocentric thought, as affirmed by Swedish political scientist Bjorn Hetne in his detailed study about this theory. There are many controversies about creation of this theory, but without question our contribution was fundamental. According to Canadian sociologist, Lawrence Aschules, Dos Santos been one of first to articulate theory of dependency. Others have followed him and theory expanded in such way that, despite of its youth, we can consider him grandfather of theory.Anyway, in these years, I became so strongly identified with Latin American social thought that Russian philosopher Chestopol wrote, Theotonio Dos Santos, Brazilian sociologist, is most eminent representative of Nueva Dependencia school (...). With time, works of Dos Santos became symbol of Latin American Social Science, not only for colleagues from continent, but also from other countries in world.Due to global reach of my work, I was considered by economics department web site of Universidad de Malaga to be one of 250 greatest economists in history of this science.My contribution to social literature of region has particular characteristic of having been written in two regional languages, Spanish and Portuguese, as result of my long years of exile in Chile and Mexico. For this reason I decided to combine several articles and papers in an organized collection of my works in English in book under title of Fundamental Works: World System, Imperialism and Dependence. I hope that will permit an overview of my work, which I expect to be contribution that has more important role than merely regional and can be summarized in three main points:1. My academic contribution is considered important for methodology of inter- and trans-disciplinary activities. Economists, sociologists, political scientists, historians, anthropologists and philosophers have taken it as having also influenced their own disciplines. It was also an important influence to Liberation Theology and Liberation Philosophy.I was also accepted as substantial contributor to advance of methodology because I have introduced use and methodological control of levels of abstraction as an essential element of dialectical inquiry. My article on concept of social class that develops this methodology was considered by U.S. Marxist journal Science and Society as a classic on subject. …