Notes on the thought of Ignácio Rangel on the centenary of his birth

Vol. 34 No. 4 (2014)

Oct-Dec / 2014
Published October 1, 2014
PDF-Portuguese (Português (Brasil))
PDF-Portuguese (Português (Brasil))

How to Cite

Monteiro de Castro, Marcio Henrique, Ricardo Bielschowsky, and Cesar Benjamin. 2014. “Notes on the Thought of Ignácio Rangel on the Centenary of His Birth”. Brazilian Journal of Political Economy 34 (4):527-43. https://doi.org/10.1590/0101-3157-2014-2515.

Notes on the thought of Ignácio Rangel on the centenary of his birth

Marcio Henrique Monteiro de Castro
Professor da Universidade Federal Fluminense Rio de Janeiro, Brasil.
Ricardo Bielschowsky
Professor da Universidade Federal do Rio de Janeiro, Rio de Janeiro, Brasil.
Cesar Benjamin
Editor da Contraponto Editora, Rio de Janeiro, Brasil.
Brazilian Journal of Political Economy, Vol. 34 No. 4 (2014), Oct-Dec / 2014, Pages 527-543

Abstract

This paper is a tribute to one of the greatest Brazilian intellectuals of the XXth century, Ignacio Rangel, at the Centenary of his birth. The two analytical pillars of his thought are discussed, namely the thesis of the long term “Basic Duality” of the Brazilian economy and of the national political structure, and the idea that economic planning should always involve the identification and use of idle resources. It is argued that his ideas on history and his defense of planning integrate a wider development theory, which combines structural change (industrialization, agrarian modernization, the strengthening of the financial capital, etc.) and a macro-dynamic approach on idle capacity and economic cycles. By way if conclusion the ideas are evaluated from a XXIst century perspective.

JEL Classification: 2B.


Keywords: Ignácio Rangel basic duality economic cycles