Abstract

Latin America has made extremely valuable contributions to the development of planning as an instrument for government. Carlos Matus (1931-1998) in particular stands out as one of the main architects of what may be termed the "Latin American strategic planning school". Matus's contributions focus on the need to create a new type of sciences -the sciences and techniques of government-, thus conceiving of planning as a powerful means to govern rather than a tool for intellectual debate. Therefore, Matus persistently warns of the need to combine science and politics, in order to overcome the technocracy and improvised performance that characterize the governments in our countries. He made his main contribution by thinking of making a science for action and conceiving politics based on a theory of action. The following is one of the conferences delivered by Professor Carlos Matus in the city of Buenos Aires, in 1998, in the framework of a set of academic activities he performed shortly before his death. With his usual clarity, Matus reflects on the necessary and essential linkages between sciences and politics.