Sermon about democracy. On equality and democracy in Latin America based on “Ariel” by José Enrique Rodó

Abstract

The article is dedicated to the analysis of the essay “Ariel” wrote by José Enrique Rodó. This is one of the most important works of an essayist. He presented in it a socio-political project which could help Latin America defend itself against the influence of the hegemonic community of the United States. His proposal is an attempt to answer the question of what political system would be capable of responding to the needs of young North American countries. This made it necessary for the Uruguayan essayist to address the problems of egalitarianism and elitism. The author of this article attempts to present in a synthetic way how the two concepts are interpreted by the essayist and how they are used in the creation of his own political concept.