Neo-developmentalism, Accumulation by Dispossession and International Rent. Argentina, 2003-2013

FÉLIZ, MARIANO

International Critical Thought

Taylor & Francis

Año: 2014 vol. 4 p. 499 - 509

2159-8282

After the crisis of the neoliberal project in Argentina, dominant classes were able to recreate their social hegemony under the umbrella of a new development project, which has been labelled neo-developmentalist. A new articulation of productive forces, state-form and constitution of the class conflict, led by a new hegemonic block dominated by the transnationalized fractions of capital, dialectically displaced neoliberal adjustment momentum in Argentina. Much in line with Rosa Luxemburg´s analysis, neo-developmentalist savoir-faire tries to create the conditions for sustained capital accumulation while accepting, as a question of historical inevitability and, even, good luck, the place of Argentina as producer-exporter of primary commodities and basic manufactures of those commodities. In such context, a permanent and systematic process of "primitive accumulation", or accumulation by dispossession to follow Harvey´s terminology, becomes tantamount to the production and expanded reproduction of capital in Argentina´s value-space. In this article, I discuss these processes showing how ground-rent articulates with primitive accumulation to perpetuate accelerated valorization and accumulation of capital in Argentina after 2003. First, I discuss some relevant theoretical concepts. After that, I discuss how Rosa Luxemburg´s approach can be useful and enlighten the analysis of the current process of capital accumulation in Argentina. Finally, I present some brief conclusions and the bibliographical references.