Underdevelopment Is A State of Mind: The Latin American Case

A veteran USAID official examines in depth the historical performance of several Latin American countries and Australia, seeking to isolate the sources of successful development. He concludes that the principal determinant is culture, defined for this purpose as values and attitudes. In each of the successful countries "the world view of the society has expressed itself in ways that have affected the society's cohesion, its proneness to justice and progress, and the extent to which it taps human creative potential." A significant book, deserving close scrutiny.