The historiography of the 1960s and ’70s—particularly that of the labor movement— was biased in its discussion of the Argentine state vis-à-vis the social question at the end of the nineteenth century and the beginning of the twentieth. Predominant was a vision of the state as the clear executor of policies that specifically expressed the interests of a range of groups within the elite. According to this historiography, although there were many sectoral struggles at the moment of defining policies, the state functioned as a bloc, inhibiting any relatively autonomous development of the political agenda of the elites. Thus, in confronting social conflicts, conservative governments did not offer anything new but instead took advantage of a state apparatus that was not only repressive, but also incapable of channeling social demands.
In the last few years, this approach has been revised from a variety of perspectives that go beyond labor history. Los liberates reformistas is part of this renewal. Its thesis points to the existence of a liberal reformist current that permeated both official history as well as the opposition during the years of the República Conservadora, and which at times coexisted with other reformist influences of a different ideological strain, such as socialism and social Catholicism. Similar to what had occurred in other countries—the Third French Republic, Spain under Canalejas, and even the labor policies of Theodore Roosevelt in the United States—liberal reformism was identified with the values of a “new liberalism” that recognized the need of an interventionist state, proposed a certain degree of social equality, promoted a communal ethic, and sought to present an alternative to the positions that upheld individualism or collectivism. According to Zimmermann, this reformist liberalism not only gave impetus to a political and institutional regeneration that would consolidate the principle of citizenship from above, but it also encouraged the development of strategies to confront the social question. This, in turn, led to the formation of groups, made up mostly of active professionals in the academy and politics, that argued for the application of social sciences to guide state policies in matters as diverse as social hygiene, immigration control, the regulation of labor relations, the construction of housing, and the exclusion of anarchism. In many of these initiatives, legitimacy was sought in other interventionist experiences at the international level.
This reconsideration of liberal reformism is a welcome addition to the historiography of the period. Zimmermann has written a clear, concise book, with a solid treatment of primary sources. My reservations are directed, however, to the disproportionate attention the author pays to the liberal current, which could indeed have marked the climate of ideas during this period, although it may not necessarily have shaped the concrete political practices of the conservative government nor generated legislation that was particularly relevant. An evaluation of the content of these social initiatives shows that while in some cases they can be attributed to liberal reformists, in many others they represent clear examples of conservative reformism.
Another issue to consider is the association of social reform with liberal reformism. Any definition of an ideological group is necessarily limited, and the one that Zimmermann offers of the liberal reformists is no exception. Perhaps for this reason many of the social initiatives put forth by the burgeoning specialized state bureaucracy —where other political ideological currents also existed—are presented as the legacy of liberal reformism. The social reformers were in fact a much more heterogeneous group, with many points of convergence, but also many differences. Given this heterogeneity, emphasis could be placed either on the commonalities or the differences. Zimmermann chose the first, and in that sense his contributions are timely. Had he also emphasized the differences, he would have been able to reconstruct a more nuanced picture.
