Several writings of Salazar yet unkown have recently been published. I would like to call the attention of people interested in the political thought of Salazar for a particular, fruitful way of reading him.
Salazar, a former university professor of political economy at Coimbra, was not primarily concerned with ideologies, much less with imported ideologies which he actually knew well. He lived through a period of experimentation with such political ideologies as liberalism, socialism, republicanism at home and later, nazism, fascism and communism abroad, and was not impressed with neither of them. He did not believe one could successfully devise a political system of ideas and then impose it on the people.
His method was radically opposite. First of all he tried to know the people - the Portuguese people, I mean, because he was not concerned to find political solutions for all of mankind. The great observations of Salazar in this regard are small catch phrases dispersed among his several speeches, interviews and notes, where he summarizes such or such aspect of the Portuguese character and culture. If one tries to put all those catch phrases together one gets an accurate, comprehensive portrait of the typical Portuguese man or woman and of the Portuguese people as a whole.
Having done this, he then moves to the problem of designing the political institutions which can better fit the Portuguese character and culture. And he did this with immense success. I say with immense success for Portugual is not going to get anytime soon another fifty-year period of so much economic and social progress as the period of the Estado Novo.
These institutions, to name only a few, included a minimal, strong state; a state as a pessoa de bem which meant a state which gave the example in fulfilling its contracts and obligations; an economy largely free of government involvement and intervention; a prudent distance between the interests of business and those of politics; the peaceful coexistence of corporative interests in an institution he himself invented, Câmara Corporativa; a peaceful coexistence between Church and State; and a mostly effective system of justice.
Salazar, a former university professor of political economy at Coimbra, was not primarily concerned with ideologies, much less with imported ideologies which he actually knew well. He lived through a period of experimentation with such political ideologies as liberalism, socialism, republicanism at home and later, nazism, fascism and communism abroad, and was not impressed with neither of them. He did not believe one could successfully devise a political system of ideas and then impose it on the people.
His method was radically opposite. First of all he tried to know the people - the Portuguese people, I mean, because he was not concerned to find political solutions for all of mankind. The great observations of Salazar in this regard are small catch phrases dispersed among his several speeches, interviews and notes, where he summarizes such or such aspect of the Portuguese character and culture. If one tries to put all those catch phrases together one gets an accurate, comprehensive portrait of the typical Portuguese man or woman and of the Portuguese people as a whole.
Having done this, he then moves to the problem of designing the political institutions which can better fit the Portuguese character and culture. And he did this with immense success. I say with immense success for Portugual is not going to get anytime soon another fifty-year period of so much economic and social progress as the period of the Estado Novo.
These institutions, to name only a few, included a minimal, strong state; a state as a pessoa de bem which meant a state which gave the example in fulfilling its contracts and obligations; an economy largely free of government involvement and intervention; a prudent distance between the interests of business and those of politics; the peaceful coexistence of corporative interests in an institution he himself invented, Câmara Corporativa; a peaceful coexistence between Church and State; and a mostly effective system of justice.
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The important points in Salazar's political thinking are his method, his sagacity and his extraordinary independence of thought. He did not start with a political ideology which he would then impose on the Portuguese people. Rather, he started with the Portuguese people and then tried to devise the political institutions which would better fit these people. In this sense, the Estado Novo was a truly unique, genuinely Portuguese, political regime.
The important points in Salazar's political thinking are his method, his sagacity and his extraordinary independence of thought. He did not start with a political ideology which he would then impose on the Portuguese people. Rather, he started with the Portuguese people and then tried to devise the political institutions which would better fit these people. In this sense, the Estado Novo was a truly unique, genuinely Portuguese, political regime.
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