Description

Throughout much of the Western tradition, human subjectivity has been regarded as a major source of error. Thus, adapting universal standards devoid of corrosive human influences has been thought to be a requisite for building an optimal society. This tendency, which is predicated on social ontological realism, historically encouraged projects of colonization, as Western standards of development became synonymous with universal reason and civilization. Currently, neoliberal globalization is an extension of this realist legacy and demands all aspects of social life to be determined by the presumably universal wisdom of the market. Yet, in Latin America, neoliberalism has normalized extreme inequality and cultural mutilation as innocent outcomes of market dynamics. The present work, accordingly, draws from Alejandro Serrano Cal-dera, a Nicaraguan philosopher and social critic, to critique realism and develop an anti-realist social vision on which to build a new type of nation, ethic, and politics grounded on human praxis. The point is made that this anti-realist shift offers the possibility to democratize the current process of globalization.