ABSTRACT
The rift between Latin America and the West, particularly the United States widened as a first step in separating it from the Western political-economic system. But it is absurd and sterile for Latin-American society as a whole to claim that its primary roots lie in pre-Columbian cultures, and that Western culture, from its introduction during the Conquest and colonization, has led to a downward trend in Latin America's destiny. But the praise of Inca socialism, which is often expressed, seems as arbitrary as the unwarranted inflation of pre-Columbian population estimates. The pre-Columbian American Indians were few in number and little advanced in their political development, science, and technology. The difficulties or downright failures of all the attempts at agrarian reform in Latin America have their most serious effect on the non-Hispanized Indians, who traditionally live outside the money economy and whose standard of living is extremely low.
