Have We Ever Been So Modern? Notes on the Exhaustion of Modernization in Contemporary Brazil

Abstract

This work reflects on the current crisis in Brazil through the concepts of “modernization” and the “Brazilianization”. It draws on a segment of Brazilian social theory from the last decade that addresses the limitations of the country's modernization in light of the crisis of capitalist accumulation, as explored by Francisco de Oliveira, Paulo Arantes, and Marildo Menegat. The examination of these concepts reveals persistent expectations for Brazilian society to achieve levels of capitalist development comparable to those in central countries, while also highlighting the internal limitations of Brazilian capitalism. In other words, the social dynamics of the country over recent decades have been reshaped by neoliberalism, leading to the exhaustion of certain modern social forms that previously accommodated contradictions and antagonisms. Thus, it is suggested that the inherent tendencies of Brazilian society are aligned with the crisis of institutional politics and the resurgence of violent forms of conflict control, thereby reinstating characteristics of modern society that had previously seemed obsolete.