Faoro, Weber and the Articulation of Various Dimensions of Social Reality in Brazilian Explanation of Backwardness

Abstract

Max Weber’s thought, at the moment when economists and sociologists seek to converge their work, is presented as a plausible alternative to think about the interrelation between the various fields of Social Sciences. In Brazil, the ideas of Weber constituted one of the most notable influences to understand the country's problems. Following along this line, this paper aims to examine Raymundo Faoro’s “Os donos do poder” (the owners of power), Weberian interpretation of Brazil, the articulation between the economic, social and political fields. The underlying assumption is that, viewed in the light of Weber's formulations, Faoro subsumes all different social actions in a unique dimension, namely politics, advancing a monocausal explanation of both the “backwardness” and the dynamics of Brazilian reality.