The theoretical status of the notion of dependence

Abstract

In 1970, a controversy opposed Fernando Henrique Cardoso and Francisco Weffort concerning the “dependency situation”; whereas the latter’s argument was abstract and perfunctory, the former cared to elaborate a concrete analysis, despite the fact that he did not separate the “dependency situation” from the colonial situation stricto sensu or entail it to the development of capitalism and imperialism. When dependency is conceived as the amalgam of juridical independency and economic dependency, the dynamic of its development will be determined by the penetration of capital in the productive sphere followed by the internalization of the productive apparatus.