Abstract

TRAVERSA, Federico. NUEVO ANÁLISIS DE LAS PRECONDICIONES ECONÓMICAS DE LA DEMOCRACIA. Rev. Urug. Cienc. Polít. [online]. 2007, vol.16, n.1, pp.103-129. ISSN 1688-499X.

Abstract Studies on economic preconditions for democracy have usually transited two major trends. On the one hand, some scholars has insisted on the validity of the assumptions of the Theory of Modernization, which attaches to economic development a key role in the probability of democratic rule in a country. Other researches have highlighted the importance of an equitable distribution of economic resources as a necessary precondition for the development of democracy. As part of this second tradition, this paper supports the idea that the purported relationship between economic development and democracy is inconsistent in theoretical terms, and that can only be empirically grounded to the twentieth century. I argue that the structure of distribution of economic resources affects democracy strongly, and while a completely equitable distribution of resources is not a prerequisite, it is necessary at least, a low polarization in the distribution pattern for democracy to survive.

Keywords : Democracy; Inequality; Economic Polarization.

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