Book Reviews and Notices : Latin American Politics and Government. By Austin F. Macdonald. (New York: Thomas Y. Crowell Company. 1949. Pp. 642. $4.50.)

• Date: 01 September 1949
• DOI: 10.1177/106591294900200331
• Author: William Ebenstein
• Published date: 01 September 1949
• Subject Matter: Articles

449

Cornu’s

work,

nevertheless,

has

positive

value

and

is

generally

sound

when

relating

Marx’s

revolutionary

activities

between

1848

and

1850.

The

author

analyzes

clearly

his

tactical

and

strategic

shifts

in

1848.

At

first,

Marx

advocated

an

alliance

with

the

upper

bourgeoisie

for

the

pur-

pose

of

destroying

the

old

order.

Failing

in

this,

he

then

joined

a

demo-

cratic

front,

all

the

while

refraining

from

an

open

advocacy

of

com-

munism.

He

exploited

the

Paris

June

Days

to

develop

a

proletarian

class

consciousness.

In

doing

so,

however,

Marx,

and

with

him

Cornu,

exag-

gerated

the

effects

which

the

Paris

events

had

on

the

progress

of

reaction

in

Germany.

As

for

international

relations

and

war,

to

Marx

the

dictates

of

revolution

and

historic

&dquo;progress&dquo;

justified

and

made

desirable

a

war

against

such

reactionary

powers

as

Russia.

Likewise,

the

national

aspira-

tions

of

various

peoples

in

1848

were

blessed

as

revolutionary

or

con-

demned

as

reactionary,

depending

upon

whether

the

demands

of

nations

for

autonomy

promoted

or

retarded

the

cause

of

revolution,

notably

in

the

large

states.

It

is

a

peculiar

fact

that

Marx’s

direct

participation

in

an

actual

revo-

lution

is

generally

overlooked,

notably

in

the

Anglo-Saxon

world,

in

favor

of

an

almost

exclusive

concentration

on

Marx

as

a

theorist.

Waiving

all

practical

considerations,

a

correct

historical

appraisal

of

Marx’s

influence

demands

a

proper

awareness

of

the

precedents

set

by

Marx

in

the

field

of

revolutionary

tactics

and

strategy.

After

all,

the

choice

of

particular

revolutionary

tactics

may

determine

the

degree

of

success

or

failure

in

the

realization

of

even

the

most

apt

theories.

The

value

of

Cornu’s

work

lies

in

its

emphasis

on

Marx

as

a

practical

revolutionist.

Montana

State

Universit

y.

OSCAR

J.

HAMMEN.

Latin

American

Politics

and

Government.

By

Austin

F.

Macdonald.

(New

York:

Thomas

Y.

Crowell

Company.

1949.

Pp.

642.

$4.50.)

After

his

excellent

Government

of

the

Argentine

Republic,

published

in

1942

and

rendered

somewhat

out

of

date

only

a

year

later

by

Col.

Per6n

and

his

friends,

Professor

Macdonald

has

now

undertaken

the

more

ambitious

task

of

presenting

the

whole

of

Latin

American

politics

and

government

in

one

volume.

A

textbook

in

this

field

can

be

organized

either

topically

or

geographically.

Under

the

first

method,

the

author

studies

political

institutions-the

presidency,

representative

bodies,

parties

and

public

opinion,

state

intervention

in

economic

affairs,

to

mention

but

a

few-and

tries

to

find

out

what

valid

generalizations

can

be

made

in

relation

to

all

or

some

Latin

American

countries,

especially

the

more

important

ones.

Under

the

second

method,

the

author

describes

briefly

the

political

and

governmental

features

of

each

of

the

twenty

Latin