Entre tradição e modernidade : dilema do desenvolvimento no Brasil.

Abstract

With Brazil’s independence, discussions on the destiny of the country and how to foment its development – or, in the usual term at the time, its progress – rose up. Two national projects of the time are the theme and focus of this analysis, which comprehend the first half of the XIX century. José Bonifácio de Andrada e Silva, one of the emancipation process leaders, and José da Silva Lisboa, pioneer of the economic liberalism theories in Brazil, are the authors of the proposal here analyzed. The main objective of this dissertation was verify in what way both of them thought, not only about the Brazilian progress, but mostly the tradition-modernity relation in old Brazil, considering key-issues as slavery, the Indian civilization, the cross-bread population, the tropical nature, the industrialization and civilization of the country. The search for a definition on the sense of progress in old Brazil and the analyses of its influences, including the symbolic ones, reflecting in the construction of the National State are the specific objectives here. For that, two different theories were used: one of them from the paradigmatic view of differentiation between modernization and development, brought to light by the sociologist Costa Pinto (1970), and the other one, from the modernization theory point of view, from Loo e Reijen (1992). Both projects tried to solve, in its own way, the Brazilian dilemma. One of them, supported by Silva Lisboa, aimed the acknowledgement in the international scenario as a civilized country through a conservative modernization. The other one – connected to Andrada e Silva – search for a much more endogenous development, through radical reforms in Brazilian society and the overcoming of the tradition issue. This last proposal, however, did not get support. Instead of induced social changes, the conservative adaptation of liberal ideas took its place. The way out for the Brazilian dilemma was a conjugation between tradition and modernity, aiming nothing more than necessary reforms to the internal maintenance of the status quo and to the acknowledgement of the young Nation in the international scenario. It was about keeping the image of a civilized and modern country, despite the Indian exclusion and African slavery that was happening in the Brazilian society.