South Of The Crisis

   Juan Corradi’s South of the Crisis: A Latin American Perspective on the Late Capitalist World is about globalization, development, and growth in Latin America juxtaposed with the crisis in the North. While the United States is in crisis on a number of fronts, Corradi envisions a world that will look significantly different after the crisis has run its course. For the first time, one can see cracks in America’s infrastructure and the limits of its power. On the flip side, Corradi proposes that this predicament for the U.S. provides Latin America with an opportunity to develop in many different ways.

As we enter the second decade of the new millennium, however, Corradi explains that the make-up of the world has significantly changed. Corradi argues that, “On the security front, global war has faded into the past. It has been replaced by nuclear proliferation, a greater risk of more regional wars, and one major new challenge: international terrorism. On the economic front, capitalism has encountered its own limits. Major crises have moved from the periphery to the center.” In other words, Corradi acknowledges that myriad conundrums facing the United States are essentially causing a power shift. While there is crisis in the North, the South (e.g., Brazil) is showing signs of development and growth.

There are other crises affecting the world on a whole as well. One of the most critical and urgent issues is overpopulation. It is predicted that by the year 2050, there will be nearly 10 billion humans on earth. Corradi states, “Humanity is crowded and the earth is tired.”

Expert reviewer Alejandro Rausch critiques the book as “A much-needed assessment of the crisis from the Latin American perspective. Juan Corradi provides a structural view of late capitalism and the necessary conditions for recovery and growth…” Corradi ultimately suggests that either two things will happen following the crisis: nothing will change—as it is “better the Devil you know than the Devil you don’t”—or there will be structural reform in an effort to prevent a future crisis. Corradi warns against complacency and remaining in the status quo, and predicts that these behaviors will only lead to sluggishness with regard to future development.

The book comes to a resounding climax when Eugenio Corradi emphatically punches his point home: “The world crisis offers Latin American countries an opportunity to prepare for a change in course. It is important to use the context of crisis to accelerate transformative actions designed to abate wealth concentration, inequity, poverty, and above all, to equip people with tools, tangible and intangible, to improve their lot.”

Essentially, Corradi’s text, through its simple, concrete language and easily accessible charts and startling statistics is a compelling read for anyone interested in learning more about the global power shift with regard to development, economics, and capitalism and the impact of the crisis on countries in Latin America.