Abstract

This article examines Eugênio Gudin’s theorical production that express his new
liberal posture, which highlights his opposition to Roberto Simonsen, Cepal’s economic development
theory, Marx and followers. Gudin recognized Karl Marx as the biggest enemy
of capitalism. He attributed to the thinker the creation of the concept of capitalism with
historical connotations. Radically denying this content and balancing the conception of the
natural and eternal character of this system, he focused on capitalism as a production system
which connects itself harmonically with democracy. He worked with the pair of concepts:
economy market and democracy as an antithesis of planning and totalitarism, structuring
the discourse that stress the abstract general plan, disregarding a concrete-historical analysis
for each specific case. Consequently, every aspect that does not fit that pair is considered undemocratic
and interventionist, as an equivalent denial of the human ideal, sometimes that
should be avoided, or even destroyed.

JEL Classification: B31.