Positivism has long been recognized as the major intellectual force in modifying the nature and direction of liberalism in nineteenth-century Latin America. For some, this meant the betrayal of much of the idealism of classical liberalism in favor of a more cynical rationalization of authoritarian rule on behalf of a privileged elite. For others, it reflected a refinement of classical liberalism in accordance with nineteenth-century concepts of scientific progress. In Mexico, the change occurred after great political violence and controversy had brought disillusion and bitterness to many liberals and called into question egalitarian and democratic aspects of classical liberalism. In this precise and systematic work, Charles Hale confirms the importance of positivism to Porfirian Mexico. As in his earlier work, Mexican Liberalism in the Age of Mora (1968), Hale is primarily concerned with the transmission and role of ideas in Mexican society. Much of his discussion revolves around leading Mexican positivists—Gabino Barreda, Justo Sierra, and the científicos—and how they rationalized within the powerful mythology of Mexican liberalism a regime that contradicted many of the basic classical liberal tenets.
After paying homage to the European roots of positivism, Hale begins his study with a detailed analysis of the structure of scientific politics as they came to be understood in Mexico. He continues with a thorough discussion of the relationship between scientific politics and constitutionalism, arguing that Sierra’s claim to being a constitutionalist must be taken seriously. In the process, he gives us an especially revealing portrait of who the Mexican positivists were, where they stood on issues, and how their often controversial ideas were incorporated into the Mexican political dialogue. Hale recognizes the important role of the Escuela Nacional Preparatoria as a vehicle for positivist indoctrination. He also attributes great importance to the ideas of Herbert Spencer and Social Darwinism in Mexico, but notes that, as with other foreign ideas, Spencerian thought entered Mexico via French and Spanish translation rather than directly from English. Hale concludes that between 1867 and 1910 positivism became the “predominant set of social ideas in Mexico, just as positivist philosophy came to guide the reorganization of higher education and positive or scientific politics became the prevailing concept of government” (p. 205). This is a skillfully written work, based on a broad array of published sources.
