Barbarians and Traditionalists in Twentieth-Century Argentina: A Reflection on the Development Theories of José Ingenieros and Gino Germani.

Abstract

Development is a central idea in modern culture. Yet, it has a number of ideologically diverse meanings that will be rewritten and redefined in different social science theories during this century.

This article tries to show how in Argentina, a society that is not completely “A modern” or A developed”, specific local characteristics shaped the rewriting and interpretations of development at two points in the twentieth century. Giddens’ double hermeneutic theory (1984) is the central conceptual tool for the analysis.