ABSTRACT
Three decisive moments in the relations between State and society in social and political thought are discussed: the Empire, with the debate between Tavares Bastos and the Viscount of Uruguay; the First Republic, when Oliveira Vianna is the central author; and the transition from the civil-military dictatorship of 1964-1985 to democracy, where Raymundo Faoro and Florestan Fernandes are inescapable. If in the first moment the debate about political centralization and decentralization concentrates various ongoing interests, in the second the question of the adequacy of political institutions to society is the main theme; and in the third moment confronting the problem of democracy in the relations between State and society could no longer be postponed. By outlining this historical framework on the Bicentennial of Independence, we want to rethink the deadlocks in the relations between State and society that remain relevant in the present.
KEYWORDS:
State and society; Political and social thought; Bicentennial of Independence