Las Ideas Politicas En Argentina

Rating:
Summary: Ideas, living in two worlds :)
Review: If you are interested in Argentina's history, and would like to know about the History of Political Ideas in that country, this is the right book for you. Its first edition was in 1946, but in the following editions the author added some chapters. In my opinion, "Las ideas políticas en Argentina" ("Political ideas in Argentina") is nowadays as useful as it was in the year it was first published, because it allows us to understand Argentina's history, and therefore its present.

Romero says, in the foreword to "Las ideas políticas en Argentina", that neither Argentina nor the rest of the Hispanoamerican countries have made an original theoretic contribution regarding Political Thought. Despite that, he points out that his purpose in writing this book wasn't to say something different. His aim was to show the reader that even if it lacks originality in a particular country, Political Thought should also be considered important, and meticulously studied. The reason for that is that ideas live not only in a world of their own, but also in ours, due to the fact that they affect the way in which we behave. To quote the author, "Aparte que sea o no original en el plano doctrinario, el pensamiento político de una colectividad posee siempre un altísimo interés histórico; pero no solamente en cuanto es idea pura, sino también -y acaso más- en cuanto es conciencia de una actitud y motor de una conducta".

José Luis Romero is a well-known Argentinian historian, who has written many other books about the history of my country. His son, Luis Alberto Romero, wrote my favorite book regarding Contemporary Argentinian History, "Breve Historia Contemporánea de la Argentina". Anybody who is lucky enough to have read both that book and the one I'm reviewing right now cannot help but see that the son takes after the father: they are incredibly good historians, but also excellent writers.

All in all, I can heartily recommend this book to those interested in Argentina's history. It's interesting and quite original, well-written and informative. I think you will enjoy it :)

Belen Alcat