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The Economics of the Allende Years (Modern Chile ep. 3)
This episode continues our coverage of modern Chile, focusing on the economics of the period of 1970-1973, during which Salvador Allende governed as president and his administration attempted to transition Chile towards a socialist economic system. We begin with a discussion of sources — who has written about the economics of the Allende years, and whose work will we be drawing upon. We then describe the economic performance of Chile before and during the Allende years, giving a sense of how Chile arrived to a state of economic chaos in 1973. Our next section breaks down the plausible reasons for poor economic performance in Chile under the Allende government, including some factors that were outside of the government’s control. Most of the rest of the episode centers on an analysis of the economic program of the Allende government, and why its attempt at a transition to socialism failed.
We think there’s plenty for modern leftists to learn from this remarkable attempt at a socialist transition under a democratic political system. Though a poor selection of policies contributed to the collapse of the Allende government, which ultimately fell in a coup in the fall of 1973, future democratic socialist governments are not inevitably doomed to a similar fate.
Show Notes
From Bloomberg: “Chile Has Its Own Milei, and the Libertarian Is Just as Radical”
From Tim Barker: “The Mighty Wurlitzer Plays On”
Alec Nove Wikipedia
“Macroeconomic Populism” by Dornbusch and Edwards
From the NYT: “C.I.A. Is Linked to Strikes In Chile That Beset Allende”
From the Zinn Project: “The Overthrow of Democracy in Chile — A Timeline”
From Paul Rosenstein-Rodan: “"Why Allende Failed”
From Alec Nove: “The Political Economy of the Allende Regime”
From Victor Espinosa: “The political economy of fiscal dominance: Evidence from the Chilean government of Salvador Allende”
From Sebastian Edwards: “The Debauchery of Currency and Inflation: Chile, 1970-1973”
From MIT: “Project Cybersyn: Chile's Radical Experiment in Cybernetic Socialism”
From PlasticPills (via YouTube): “Project Cybersyn & The CIA Coup in Chile (Full Documentary by Plastic Pills)”
From Sebastian Edwards: “The Chile Project: The Story of the Chicago Boys and the Downfall of Neoliberalism”
Credits
Theme music by our youngest brother Tate.
Cover art by Arthur Santoro.
Get full access to The History Onion at historyonion.substack.com/subscribe
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By History OnionThis episode continues our coverage of modern Chile, focusing on the economics of the period of 1970-1973, during which Salvador Allende governed as president and his administration attempted to transition Chile towards a socialist economic system. We begin with a discussion of sources — who has written about the economics of the Allende years, and whose work will we be drawing upon. We then describe the economic performance of Chile before and during the Allende years, giving a sense of how Chile arrived to a state of economic chaos in 1973. Our next section breaks down the plausible reasons for poor economic performance in Chile under the Allende government, including some factors that were outside of the government’s control. Most of the rest of the episode centers on an analysis of the economic program of the Allende government, and why its attempt at a transition to socialism failed.
We think there’s plenty for modern leftists to learn from this remarkable attempt at a socialist transition under a democratic political system. Though a poor selection of policies contributed to the collapse of the Allende government, which ultimately fell in a coup in the fall of 1973, future democratic socialist governments are not inevitably doomed to a similar fate.
Show Notes
From Bloomberg: “Chile Has Its Own Milei, and the Libertarian Is Just as Radical”
From Tim Barker: “The Mighty Wurlitzer Plays On”
Alec Nove Wikipedia
“Macroeconomic Populism” by Dornbusch and Edwards
From the NYT: “C.I.A. Is Linked to Strikes In Chile That Beset Allende”
From the Zinn Project: “The Overthrow of Democracy in Chile — A Timeline”
From Paul Rosenstein-Rodan: “"Why Allende Failed”
From Alec Nove: “The Political Economy of the Allende Regime”
From Victor Espinosa: “The political economy of fiscal dominance: Evidence from the Chilean government of Salvador Allende”
From Sebastian Edwards: “The Debauchery of Currency and Inflation: Chile, 1970-1973”
From MIT: “Project Cybersyn: Chile's Radical Experiment in Cybernetic Socialism”
From PlasticPills (via YouTube): “Project Cybersyn & The CIA Coup in Chile (Full Documentary by Plastic Pills)”
From Sebastian Edwards: “The Chile Project: The Story of the Chicago Boys and the Downfall of Neoliberalism”
Credits
Theme music by our youngest brother Tate.
Cover art by Arthur Santoro.
Get full access to The History Onion at historyonion.substack.com/subscribe