CAPITAL, CRISIS AND UNDERDEVELOPMENT
Barry Bluestone and Bennett Harrison, Capital and
Communities: The Causes and Consequences of Private
Disinvestment (The Progressive Alliance, 1980). $20
paper, 334 pgs. A well-researched and written study
which succeeds in presenting a “comprehensive and
carefully documented discussion of the previously
underestimated economic and human consequences
of capital shift, the reasons for its current impact, the
limitations of operative policies to address the crisis
and, finally, progressive strategies which would lead to
more balanced and equitable economic growth.”
Although its price will be a disappointment to many, it is
a study which should be read by all interested in the
issue of capital flight. (The Progressive Alliance, 1625 L
Street, NW, Washington, DC 20036.)
Manuel Castells, The Economic Crisis and American
Society (Princeton University Press, 1980). $20 cloth,
$5.95 paper, 285 pgs. Castells, a leading Marxist urban
sociologist, seeks in this work to find the underlying
causes and the forseeable consequences of the
economic crisis on the structure and evolution of ad-
vanced capitalism. To this end, he presents an analysis
of the development of the crisis in the system’s core, in
the United States. Includes an extended essay on the
theory of crisis and a look at post-World War II
economy and society. (Princeton University Press,
Princeton, NJ 08540.)
lan Roxborough, Theories of Underdevelopment (London:
MacMillan Press, 1979). $22.50 cloth, $11.50 paper,
175 pgs. Roxborough reviews and critiques some of the
major theories of development from Marx, Weber and
Durkheim to A.G. Frank, Barrington Moore, Prebish,
Wallerstein, Amin and some of the current
“Althusserians.” His principal concern is to avoid over-
generalization when discussing the Third World and to
situate imperialism and underdevelopment into a
specific historical analysis of the formation of social
classes. Good overview and thoughtful presentation.
(Available in the United States through Humanities
Press, Atlantic Highlands, NJ 07716.)
John G. Taylor, From Modernization to Modes of Produc-
tion: A Critique of the Sociologies of Development and Under-
development (Humanities Press, 1979). $27 cloth; $12.50
paper, 335 pgs. The aim of this volume, according to
the author, is to put forward a tentative general
framework for the analysis of Third World formations.
As in the Roxborough study, Taylor critiques the
46
developmental sociologists, taking particular aim at
Talcott Parsons, and the “underdevelopment
theorists,” Baran, Sweezy and Frank. He presents an
argument for the utility of adopting recent work in
“modes of production” analysis, seeing Third World
societies as particular combinations of different modes
of production which establish a basis for forms of class
structure and political representation that are specific
to these societies. (Humanities Press, Atlantic
Highlands, NJ 07716.)
Jose Villamil, ed,, Transnational Capitalism and National
Development: New Perspectives on Dependence (Humanities
Press, 1979). $37.50 cloth, 325 pgs. Fourteen essays
examining the theoretical issues inherent in develop-
ment and dependency, transnational structures
(technology, mass communications, etc.), and the state
and multinational corporations. Includes studies of
Puerto Rico and Kenya as well as overviews on Latin
America and Africa. (Humanities Press, Atlantic
Highlands, NJ 07716.)
CORPORATIONS: CDE PUBLICATIONS
The Corporate Data Exchange (Room 707, 198
Broadway, New York, NY 10038) has recently pub-
lished the third and fourth in its series of Stock Owner-
ship Directories. Both are gems of solid research and
hard work which provide researchers and activists with
their first in-depth understanding of who controls voting
within a corporation.
No. 3: Banking and Finance profiles 240 major com-
panies active in eight financial industries including
commercial banking, insurance, finance and invest-
ment management. Among the conclusions of the
study: the eleven largest money center banks hold up
to 15.4% in each other; 55% of the top 100 banks in
the U.S. control more than 5% of their own stock
despite the recommendation of Congressman Patman
in 1968 that banks be prohibited from such a high in-
cidence of self-control; and U.S. steelworker pension
money supports Japanese steel producers.
No. 4: Energy examines the largest stock holders of
142 companies in the energy field (petroleum, coal,
natural gas, electric utilities and nuclear). Absolutely
essential for any research on and understanding of
energy politics and policies in the United States today.
CDE has also recently published another of their
“Handbook” series, this one on Banking and Finance: The
Hidden Cost. A companion piece to the Stock Ownership
Directory, this pamphlet is a primer on the structure
and concentration of banking and seven other financial
industries. Excellent source for those baffled by finance
and who need a clear and accurate description and
definition of the industry.
Write CDE, Room 707, 198 Broadway, New York, NY
10036, for prices of the Stock Ownership Directories.
The Handbook sells for $5 (non-profit institutions) and
$25 (corporations)
NACLA Report
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LATIN AMERICA
Lorraine Stevens, What is Socialism? A Working Class
Organizer Visits Cuba (United Struggle Press, 1980). $3.00
paper, 27 pgs. This short pamphlet was written by an
organizer for the New York City Unemployed and Wel-
fare Council after her 1978 trip to Cuba. The booklet is
comprised of the transcription of a conversation be-
tween Lorraine Stevens and two Cubans and tends to
be rambling and unfocused. It highlights many ad-
vances the Cubans have made-particularly in con-
trast to the United States-but doesn’t leave the reader
in any position to understand the current wave of
emigration from the island. (United Struggle Press,
1133 Broadway, Room 517, New York, NY 10010.)
Marco Gandasegui, Jr., et. al., Las luchas obreras on
Panama (1850-1978) (Centro de Estudios Latinoame-
ricanos “Justo Arosemena,” 1980). Write for price,
paper, 216 pgs. Good overview of the history of
organized labor in Panama. Very useful charts, sta-
tistics. (CELA “Justo Arosemena,” Apartado 6-3093, ‘El
Dorado,’ Panama.)
Latin America Bureau, Uruguay. Generals Rule (Latin
America Bureau, 1980). 1.50 paper, 73 pgs. Uruguay
has become the forgotten dictatorship in Latin
America, but this little volume should help publicize the
nature of repression in that country. Also includes a
brief overview of Uruguayan history and some useful
statistical materials. (Latin America Bureau, PO Box
134, London NW1 4JY, England.)
MEXICO AND THE UNITED STATES
Lawrence A. Cardoso, Mexican Emigration to the United
States, 1897-1931: Socio-Economic Patterns (University of
Arizona Press, 1980). $8.95 paper, 192 pgs. Historical
monograph based on archival materials from Mexico
and the United States. The study, which ends at the
Depression, provides a good background for ap-
preciating similarities and differences between turn-of-
the century and current migratory waves from Mexico.
(University of Arizona Press, Box 3398, Tucson, AZ
85722.)
Milton H. Jamail, The United States-Mexico Border: A
Guide to Institutions, Organizations and Scholars (Latin
American Area Center, University of Arizona, 1980).
$7.00 plus 50c postage, paper, 153 pgs Extremely
useful guide for anyone researching, studying or doing
activist work on the U.S.-Mexican border. Includes
references, names, addresses, sources, etc., for the
following categories: narratives and local listings for
border communities, U.S. and Mexican Federal level in-
volvement, regional organizations, maquiladoras,
groups in U.S. and Mexico concerned with border
July/August 1980
issues, etc. (Latin America Area Center, University of
Arizona, Tucson, AZ 85722.)
Barry Poulson and T. Noel Osborn, eds., U.S.-Mexico
Economic Relations (Westview Press, 1979). $30 cloth,
442 pgs. Thirty essays covering such topics as interna-
tional trade and the balance of payments, U.S. in-
vestments and multinational corporations, migration,
agriculture and energy. (Westview Press, 5500 Central
Avenue, Boulder, CO 80301.)
Luis A. Serron, Scarcity, Exploitation and Poverty: Malthus
and Marx in Mexico (University of Oklahoma Press, 1980).
$19.95 cloth, 279 pages. Serron is straightforward
about the nature of his book: ‘The purpose of this work
is to determine whether or not it is possible to arrive at
conclusions that clearly tend to validate or invalidate
one or the other of two ideologically polar theories of
poverty (the Malthusian and the Marxian) by examining
relevant data within a social system deliberately
selected because of its known tendency to emphasize
the magnitude of the key variables involved in both
theories.” His conclusion: Marxian notions of exploita-
tion are more helpful and valid than the Malthusian con-
cept of scarcity. (University of Oklahoma Press, Nor-
man, OK 73019.)
Peter H. Smith, Mexico: The Quest for a U.S. Policy
(Foreign Policy Association, 1980). $2.00 paper, 33 pgs.
Short history of U.S.-Mexico relations which argues the
persistent lack of a coherent U.S foreign policy
towards Mexico and the need for one to be developed
at the present time. (Foreign Policy Association, 205
Lexington Avenue, New York, NY 10016)
Menno Vellinga, Economic Development and the Dynamics
of Class: Industrialization, Power and Control in Monterrey,
Mexico (Van Gorcum & Co., 1979). $20.75 paper, 213
pgs. Sociological examination of Monterrey, Mexico, a
city which, according to the author, represents one of
the few areas in Latin America “where an autonomous
large-scale process of industrial development has
come about, ‘carried’ by local entrepreneurs who,
moreover, have developed into one of the most power-
ful pressure groups on the national level ” (This is one
of a number of excellent studies published or
distributed in the United States by Humanities Press,
Atlantic Highlands, NJ 07716.)
Oscar J Martinez, Border Boom Town: Ciudad Juarez
Since 1848 (University of Texas Press, 1978). $12.95
cloth, 231 pgs. Name one of the world’s fastest growing
urban areas: not New York or Tokyo, but Ciudad
Juarez-El Paso, the twin cities that span the Rio
Grande. Much of the growth ( 5 7 % during the 1960s) is
based on the Border Industrialization Program, the
magnet which has attracted labor-intensive industry to
both sides of the border Martinez examines the history
of the town where he grew up and the Border In-
dustrialization Program. (University of Texas Press, PO
Box 7819, Austin, TX 78712.)
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