Intellectuals, Universities and the Social Question: Argentina, 1898–1916

Abstract

By the end of the nineteenth century, the social consequences of modernisation and economic expansion had strong repercussions in Argentine intellectual circles. The emergence of the social question around the turn of the century was not just a matter of labour unrest, anarchist terror, criminality, or housing and health problems. The social question was interpreted not only as a set of objective, measurable problems, but as an important intellectual challenge; a key element in the political and ideological transformations in Argentina during the first decade of this century. Accepted ideas about the relationship between State and society, about public order, and the role of the State in the economy were challenged by a generation of intellectuals and politicians guided by a new spirit of reform, described by Romero as ‘the spirit of the Centenary’.¹