Aristocracy and Democracy. Political Representation and Social Distinction in Argentina, 1810-1930. An Interpretative Essay

Abstract

A salient trait of Argentinian history is the lack of legitimacy of their elites. Historiography has addressed this problem by highlighting two points: the internal tensions of the elites and the egalitarianism of Argentine society, one of its singular features in the Latin American context. This article follows a different path. It argues that the legitimation deficits of the elites lies in the way in which the building of ‘natural aristocracies’, a crucial problem of modern societies, unfolded. Throughout the nineteenth century, this process took place through symbolic operations and not through political representation. That is, the form of reflecting upon political representation did not offer a consistent basis on the role of elites in democratic societies. This is a crucial aspect when considering the troublesome Argentinian history and its winding democratic road.