Raúl Federico Prébisch

Raúl Federico Prébisch —quien escribía su apellido sin acento, aquí usado para marcar la correcta pronunciación— fue un destacado economista argentino internacionalmente conocido por sus trabajos sobre la economía del desarrollo. Su familia perteneció a un destacado linaje del noroeste argentino.

Evaluación

Según el comentario del historiador de las tecnologías Carlos E. Solivérez sobre la biografía escrita por Dosman, aparentemente la única existente,

While Raúl Prebisch is widely recognized in international economic circles as one of the founders of the theory and policies for development, in Argentina is still heavily criticized on an unsustantiated ideological basis. Through its lecture one gets a vivid picture of critical times such as the "Década Infame" (Infamous Decade) of 1930-1940 in Argentina, the creation of CEPAL (Economic Commission for Latin America) and UNCTAD (United Nations Conference on Trade and Development). As the story unfolds, one gradually realizes Prebisch's main "sin": believing that well meaning, trained and documented professionals, based on stable institutions, capable of making sound economic analysis and well sustantiated proposals, can change the social conditions of whole countries. As history shows, technocrats (or well meaning elites) can perphaps temporarily change the methods of governments, but almost surely not its usually selfish goals. Each reader may find its own moral; mine is that the only sure road to development, although a long one, is -as Domingo Faustino Sarmiento pointed out- educating the "sovereign": the ignorant masses that uncritically support the very same clientelistic regimes that in the end submerge them more and more.[1]

Fuentes

• Dosman, Edgar J.; The life and times of Raul Prebisch, 1901-1986; McGill-Queen's University Press; Canadá; 2008; ISBN-10: 0773534121 ISBN-13: 978-0773534124. Texto de 599 páginas, en inglés.

Enlaces externos

• Raúl Prebisch en Wikipedia.

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