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ters; many of his interpretations at such points are open to serious

question. The general presentation of the developments of the immediately past administration is uncritical and tends to be rather
on the lyrical side. There is no doubt whatever that Mexico has
made remarkable strides in recent years but one may still be constructively critical about the matter. Throughout the volume it
would be most helpful if documentation could have been much
ampler than is the case.
The utility of the book is considerably enhanced by the numerous statistical tables included as an appendix as well as by the
critical bibliography.
RUSSELL H. FITZGIBBON

The University of California, Los Angeles

Peron's Argentina. By GEORGE I. BLANKSTEN. (Chicago: The University of Chicago Press, 19S3. Pp. 478. $6.50.)
Yankee Diplomacy: U. S. Intervention in Argentina. By O. EDMUND SMITH, JR. (Dallas: Southern Methodist University Press,
1953. Pp. 196. $3.00.)
Professor Blanksten's book is a welcome addition to the literature in the Latin American field. He candidly confesses that it has
not been easy for him to be objective about contemporary Argentine
politics, but that he has tried to present all sides of the story and to
frame his own independent interpretations. He can rest assured that
his is an honest book and one that is significantly dispassionate.
Few, if any, works in English or in Spanish give as objective an
account of the nature and workings of the Peron regime.
The first part of the book is a concise and accurate account of
historical events leading to the military coup of 1943. The second
part includes the story of Peron's rise to power and the process of
consolidation of his authority, with brief accounts of the elections
of 1946 and 1951, and the constitutional reforms of 1949. A chapter is devoted to Peron's "partner in dictatorship," his famous late
wife, and her role in the development of the feminist movement as
a significant factor in the political life of the country. Two other
chapters in this section contain brief references to some features of

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the constitution of 1949, with interesting notes on Congressional

politics and on the use by the Peronista machine of expulsion of
members of the legislature through formal legal procedure and of
Congressional investigating committees as tools of repression. In
addition, Peron's "practical federalism" is discussed with a description of the techniques which are employed in the national government's control of provincial, municipal, and local administration.
Professor Blanksten is careful to point out that Peron is not necessarily the first president to employ many of these techniques freely,
and that many of the conditions described existed long before the
advent of the present regime.
The third part is an important contribution to the understanding of many dilemmas, questions, and contradictions, which are
characteristic of Argentine politics today. It discusses Peron's approach to the problem of individual freedom on the basis of the
constitutional statement that "the state does not recognize the liberty
to undermine liberty," and the various devices used by the regime
in the Peronista "organization of obedience." Facts on anti-Semitism and on the political union of Church and state are clearly and
interestingly presented. One has to agree with the author in his
claim that Peron is not an anti-Semite nor a man of religion but
fundamentally "a skillful politician" with only one goal the retention of power. The treatment of the relationship between the country's estancieros and the regime leads us to agree with the thought
that the landowners' oligarchy has not been necessarily a major victim of the Peron government and that the latijundio remains as
much a problem as in the past. One of the most fortunate chapters
is that dealing with the political philosophy of Peronismo. The ingenious justicialista conflict theory and the "new Argentina's" Third
Position are succinctly and clearly presented. Professor Blanksten
points out that "justicialismo is a doctrine of the balancing of forces"
and, "in essence, the Peron regime is in itself a balancing of forces
. . . Peron, like anybody else in power, finds that his regime depends
for its existence on composing hostilities among various groups, and
the 'Third Position' is his method of persuading them" to do so.
Justicialismo is chiefly a system of practical politics and as such it
serves its purpose in an effective way. It is then valid to conclude
that the Peronista device is much more than simply "that doctrine
before, during and after which nothing happens." The parallels and

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differences between fascism and justicialismo are also explored to

find that on balance, although the Argentine regime has some affinities with Nazism and Fascism, the resemblance lies more in the
techniques than in the ideology.
The rest of the book is devoted to a study of those elements from
which the regime draws its domestic strength. The roles of the military and of organized labor are analyzed, with emphasis on the
potential danger to the regime represented by the uneasy and fluid
alliance of the soldier and the worker. The prediction is made that
the death of Eva Peron might well bring a strengthening of the military over some of the labor features of Peronista policies. Useful
information concerning the structure of the Peronista party is given,
accompanied by sketches of some of the men who surround Peron.
The comments on the oppostion parties are especially perspicacious.
The realistic nature of the Socialist contention, that after this experience Argentina cannot return to 1943 and must accept the rise of
the workingman, is accepted by the author. The reviewer fully
shares this view in sustaining that as for the future, no party which
fails to recognize the awakening of social and political consciousness
among the workers, which has occurred during the Peron era, will
have any possibility of challenging Peronista control successfully.
The book's faults are minor and can be easily condoned. It is
natural, that in undertaking the presentation of such a vast amount
of material as is included, repetitions could not be easily avoided.
Errors are few and not significant. It should be pointed out that
candidates for the Senate must be native-born citizens according to
the 1949 constitutional reform. The statement that they are required
to be citizens for at least ten years before their election is misleading. The use of "catchy" titles, headings, and material anecdotal in
character may discomfort some critics. However, it should not always be sinful for a scholar to attempt honestly to appeal to the
great mass of lay readers instead of confining himself to the specialist's circle. The great merit of the work is its sober spirit and
unbiased approach. As the author states, "it is easy when writing
for 'North American* consumption to damn all of Peron policies."
His was a courageous and well-done job.
Yankee Diplomacy deals with Argentina's international position
and surveys the recent history of United States diplomatic relations
with that country. It recounts the factual aspects of these relations,

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preceded by brief presentations of the background of United States

intervention in Latin America and the events which led to the end
of the interventionist era. O. Edmund Smith, Jr., is intent on showing how inconsistencies in American policies may have contributed
to the bringing about of a potentially dangerous situation and urges
a re-examination of such policies on the basis of the experiences with
the "Argentine problem." He forcefully makes a case against the
use of coercion, economic or diplomatic, and urges this country to
avoid even the appearance of intervention in Latin American affairs,
resisting strong temptations in times of crisis to employ interventionist tactics. This well-documented little volume should be of
general interest to all students of Inter-American relations.
FEDERICO G. GIL

The University of North Carolina

The Organizational Revolution. By KENNETH E. BOULDING. (New

York: Harper and Brothers, 1953. Pp. xxxiv, 286. $3.50.)
Immanuel Kant considered that politics could not take one step
forward without first having paid its respect to morals. In this
context Kant would have agreed with Aristotle that politics includes
economics. This viewpoint implies, of course, not the currently
popular dichotomy of value judgment versus judgment of fact, but
rather that it is as necessary to distinguish between sound and unsound ethics as between sound and unsound economics speaking
in both cases of both practice and the science of practice.
The Organizational Revolution by Kenneth E. Boulding, Professor of Economics at the University of Michigan, with a special
commentary by Reinhold Niebuhr, together with added comment
by a number of critics representing the spheres of business, labor,
agriculture, government, and education, assumes this point of view.
As the author points out, it is more generally accepted that the
moralist should at the same time understand the society on which
he passes judgment, than that the social scientist should also be a
moralist, and should employ his technical proficiencies in the service of improvement. The best case for the latter is "that the social
scientist will be a moralist in any case and that he will be a better