The formula "think about the country" seems to appeal to something known and familiar, but belonging to the past, a mark of a "country" that no longer exists. A debate arena like this seems at first glance to have disappeared under the weight either of specialized academic discourse or of direct political-party struggle in democratic conditions. And yet, books like Por que o Brasil cresce pouco? [Why Brazil grows little?] by Marcos Mendes clearly point to a discussion arena that cannot be attributed to any of these two forms of debate and argument. On the contrary, books like this seem to indicate that substantive normative principles have decanted in the public debate as demarcators of an arena of dispute that resembles what is usually called "thinking the country". That is the track followed by the article.
Brazil; economic growth; "think about the country"; Marcos Mendes; Por que o Brasil cresce pouco?