Neoliberal Transition in Latin America Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3000 words

Neoliberal Transition in Latin America - Essay Example Economic integration between countries will be examined to see if any neo-liberalism is taking place within the regions of Latin American countries. Discussion includes analysis of manufacturing products and those based on renewable resources mainly in relation to regional development in Chile and the growth of non-traditional exports and labor markets. The paper first examines the origins and thought processes of neo-liberalism. Neo-liberalism maintains people act according to self-interest and that markets yield the most efficient outcome by free trade balances within liberalized capital markets with minimal government intervention in the economy. Karl Marx developed the theory that under capitalism, technical and distributional changes tend to follow specific patterns of evolution. This course of changes coalesces the expansion of output, capital, and employment. (Other mitigating factors include the rise of labor productivity, the real wage, and the capital-to-labor ratio.) Further in the evolution lies difficulty to sustain the progress of labor productivity without resorting to increased amounts of capital investment. The decline of the profit rate creates the conditions for large crises resulting in recessions and unemployment. (These movements and tendencies occur at declining rates of variation (Dumenil & Levy, 2004). Marxist economics is deeply rooted in many Latin countries  and enjoy a strong historical foundation; however, â€Å"with the rise of the Cold War and the increasing United States’ hostility toward  anything remotely progressive, the left in Latin America was first, mildly, and then severely repressed. The list of casualties includes The Arbenz regime in Guatemala; Goulart in Brazil; Allende in Chile and democracy in Uruguay and Argentina† (Noble & Weinstein, 2005).