This chapter indicates that the contributions of this volume to Latin American studies, to economic history and to social scientific studies of the international order at large lie in its emphasis on the internal social factors that created a powerful attraction to foreign goods among many sectors of the independent Latin American nations. This view contrasts sharply with the few earlier studies on the topic, which have stressed external economic factors, particularly shifts in global trade, as the principal forces that shaped imports of foreign goods into Latin America.

Central to the argument is the paradox faced by Latin Americans after independence: modern nationalism is defined both by separation from the West (as the location of the former colonial powers) and by association with it (as the fountainhead of modernity). This paradox is reinforced by a dilemma facing the rulers and the ruled in the new republics: the elites must share a common nationality and citizenship with the masses, and they must distinguish themselves from the masses to support their claims of leading the republics towards progress. These two paradoxes jointly created the "allure of the foreign," which this chapter shows to be different from the widespread and diffuse "appeal of the exotic". This allure affected not only urban elites, but other classes as well.

This chapter offers a comparison of Latin America with Eastern Europe, China and the Middle East/North Africa in the post-colonial period. It shows that Eastern Europe shared this "allure of the foreign" with Latin America, while China was virtually unaffected by it. The Middle East/North Africa, with different political, economic and cultural ties to Europe, had a strikingly ambivalent attitude towards imported goods.

Authors' e-mail: bsorlove@ucdavis.edu and ajbauer@ucdavis.edu