Charles Bergquist analyzes the economic development of countries in Latin and Central America. Among the many ways to define a “developed” nation, the capitalist definition measures development by the number of things a nation has per capita, while the socialist definition assesses how well a country provides its citizens with basic necessities like housing, jobs, and food. Bergquist points out that Brazil, for example, is highly developed by the capitalist definition whereas Cuba performs well by the socialist standard.
At the time of this interview, Bergquist, a Fellow at the National Humanities Center (1980-81), was professor of history and director of the comparative area studies program at Duke University.
This edition of Soundings was conducted by Wayne J. Pond.
