Estado e planejamento na obra de Celso Furtado

Abstract

State and planning are omnipresent subjects in the vast, original and productive work of Brazilian economist Celso Furtado (1920-2004). Therefore, it should be noted that, already present in the author's early writings produced in the 1940s, these issues reached eminent place in the works of the decades of 1950, 60 and 70, appearing also in his later studies published in the beginning of the twenty-first century. Although they are ubiquitous elements, the author's references to the State are sometimes not very explicit, restrained. There is nothing in the entire author’s work, not even a single chapter, explicitly covering a theoretical-conceptual discussion about the State. This, however, does not mean that there is no explanation about the State in the writings of the Brazilian intellectual. Hence, the need of a research that unveils and systematizes the author's line of thought about State and planning. This is exactly the purpose of this doctoral thesis. In order to achieve this, Celso Furtado's whole work, produced over the course of six decades – from 1944 to 2004 – was taken into account, which is, books, articles, essays, interviews, conferences, pronouncements, plans and other documents. It is believed that little is understood when an isolated part of the work is considered, without taking into account the complete development of the author's ideas. In this sense, the methodological aspects adopted in this work are based on the exercise of reading the work itself and by itself. In other words, the basic idea was to let the texts “speak” for themselves. This research concludes that the system of thought of Celso Furtado contemplates an explanation of State and planning, which however not enough to form an explicit theoretical framework, requiring from the researcher a careful reading of the author's analysis of the different social forces and forms, in addition to the complex historical processes, engendered by the international expansion of capitalism. In addition, it concludes that this explanation brings some considerations that allow to understand the different forms assumed by the modern State, as well as formulations of the functions and methods of intervention available to the State, both in developed and underdeveloped economies.