The problem with so-called intellectuals in Brazil is that Georg Hegel(1770-1831) of the police-state philosophy and and Karl Marx(1818-1883) economic determinism are the end of history and there is nothing else worth considering. On page 75 Cardoso says "A study of the history of ideas in the twentieth century would show that each generation of critical intellectuals seeks to revive Marxism with anew breath of life. The crust of so-called "vulgar Marxism" is so recurring that it must have something to do with Marxism itself." Perhaps because Cardoso is a former teacher, and recalls the old axiom of "publish or perish", he is prone to taking a clear, concise proposition and expanding it into a chapter obfuscated with dialectic garbage.

Cardoso writes a great deal about democracy and democratization. The reader must recognise that his definitions are much different from ours, particularly "radicalized democracy". Cardoso governs by Medidas Provisorias which require legislative approval (similar to our Executive Orders). When he gets a rubber stamp approval he hails this as democracy in action. If the approval is not forthcoming, he has other less complimentary words. His knee-jerk approach to issuing MPs frequently requires repeated revisions before he gets them right. In the last seven years he has issued 237 MPs requiring 4,032 reeditions.

Cardoso is a friend of Anthony Giddens of the London School of Economics, proponent of what is called "The Third Way". The Third way is not a creation of Giddens. It originated in Germany under Adolph Hitler's National Socialist party. When ask why he did not nationalize industry, Hitler replied "I don't need to, the owners will do what I tell them to do." Cardoso has privatized a great deal of what was government owned industry but for different reasons. Brazil does not have a free market economy but a central planned economy keyed to providing maximum employment. They do not have any understanding or concern for market demand. If an industry such as steel or sugar produces more than the market needs, they look for a wy to dump the excess at below cost. The United States and Canada have both passed antidumping laws which Cardoso calls unfair.

When the Real Plan was introduced on Friday, 1 July 1994, 1 Real equaled 1 US Dollar. On Monday, 4 July 1994 when people went to exchange their money, the value of the Real had been inflated to US$1.05. They were encouraged to exchange their 'weak' dollars for 'strong' Reals. Few people realized that 4 July was American holiday and all US banks and financial institutions were closed. In a short time the value of the Real was inflated to US$1.20. The Cardoso goverment went on a borrow and spend for about three years until it could not borrow any more and had to be bailed out by the IMF to the tune of about 40 billion dollars. Today the Real is only worth about 40 US cents, the public debit is about forty percent of the gross domestic product, electricity is rationed, and Brazil is back at the IMF looking for another 19 billion to tide it over till Cardoso leaves office. What course has he charted for himself, I wonder.