The Revolutionary Mission : American Enterprise in Latin America, 1900-1945 (Cambridge Latin American Studies)

During the twentieth century, American corporations have spread American material productivity and American values such as consumerism and competitiveness around the globe. People in other nations have accepted some aspects of American corporate culture while vehemently rejecting others. The Revolutionary Mission explores this complex process as it unfolded in Latin America in the decades before World War II. Professor O'Brien examines Latin American responses to that culture which conveyed the promises of material betterment and individual freedom while also emphasizing the cult of the individual, unquestioning acceptance of disparities created by unremitting competition, and values legitimized by functionality rather than historical precedent.