Resumo:
Propsito do Trabalho:
The purpose of this paper is to present a critical reinterpretation of the findings of Martins (2012). In his doctoral thesis, Martins (2012) diagnosed as pathologies of the Brazilian accounting research an excessive concern with methods, specially quantitative ones, frequent research replications and a detachment from practice which has led researches to lack utility. He also presented a research framework that combines the philosophical assumptions about reality (ontology) and the process of knowledge acquisition about that reality (epistemology), theories and methodologies that guide the research process, and the respective research methods, in order to evaluate what are the reasons of these problems. Although I consider Martins's thesis a great contribution to the Brazilian accounting academia, it is also my opinion he presents a limited view of the social implications of the problems he identified. Hence, I propose a class-oriented reinterpretation of his results, based mainly on Antonio Gramsci's thoughts, in order to dispute Martins's conclusion that the Brazilian accounting research is of low utility and question his assertions about the social role of the accounting research.
Base da plataforma terica:
My critique of Martins's doctoral thesis is based mainly on Antonio Gramsci's ideas on hegemony and the social function of intellectuals. Gramsci draws upon the Marxist tradition which establishes that ?in the social production of their existence, men inevitably enter into definite relations, which are independent of their will, namely relations of production ? . The totality of these relations of production constitutes the economic structure of society, the real foundation, on which arises a legal and political superstructure and to which correspond definite forms of social consciousness.? (Marx, 1859). Gramsci (2001) says that ?structure and superstructures form an 'historical bloc'? (p. 250), and there is ?a necessary reciprocity between structure and superstructure? (p. 251). Hence, in his writings Gramsci paid attention to the link which provides to this bloc an organic unity (Portelli, 1977). In superstructures, Gramsci distinguishes two elements: the political society and the civil society. Within each historical bloc, the dominant groups establish their dominance by means of both the political and the civil society, through the coercion as well as the consent of the subordinated classes. Consent is obtained mainly through the civil society, which bears the ideology of the dominant class. Coercion, by its turn, is obtained mostly by means of the State apparatus, used to control the groups which show a lower attachment to the dominant ideology. The ideological leadership of society is achieved by an ideological structure composed by organisations which create and disseminate the dominant class' ideology, and by the ideological materials through which ideology is disseminated. Within a historical bloc, the hegemony of a social group is constituted by the combination of consent and coercion, what makes hegemony a superstructural phenomenon. And the link between structure and superstructure, which provides the historical bloc its organic unity, is granted by organic intellectuals, whose task is to promote, in the superstructure, the hegemony of the social class which is the dominant one within the economic structure. ?These organic intellectuals are distinguished less by their profession, which may be any job characteristic of their class, than by their function in directing the ideas and aspirations of the class to which they organically belong.? (Hoare & Smith, 1999, p.131).
Mtodo de investigao:
Resultados, concluses e suas implicaes:
I conclude that the lack of a class perspective impoverishes Martins' considerations about the Brazilian accounting research. For instance, when referring to the commitment of USP Accounting Department with the development of the Brazilian capital market, back in the 1970s, he fails to recognise the ideological commitment of the Department with the implementation of an authoritarian project sponsored by the military dictatorship that governed Brazil from 1964 to 1985. In his historical narrative about the evolution of the Brazilian accounting research, he also ignores its relationship with latter developments of capitalism, which has been through a process of financialisation in the last three decades, by which the circuit of money capital gained prevalence over the circuit of productive capital (Paulani, 2009). Accounting regulation, as well, has been through a process of internationalisation which is part of a USA-led effort to promote the spread of Anglo-American style capitalism around the world, marked by a relatively weak financial governance regime based upon transparency, international financial standards, and market self-discipline (Arnold, 2012). Hence, from a class-oriented perspective the ascension of Positivism in Brazilian accounting research described by Martins (2012) did not seem to have happened by chance, as he apparently implies. The insistence on subjects linked to the capital market, which is not an alternative of investment for a significant part of the Brazilian population nor an important source of funding for firms, whereas the implications of accounting technologies for other social groups is virtually neglected, seems to perfectly fit the role of promoting the Anglo-American style capitalism. Furthermore, as Martins (2012) states, many accounting researchers in Brazil ?are also consultants, private sector professionals and even State professionals? (p. 223). Thus, when Martins (2012) registers complaints from practitioners that the results of accounting researches are not being useful for them, from a class-oriented point of view it seems to be a critique of the performance of accounting researchers in directing the ideas and aspirations of the class to which they organically belong. However, the Brazilian accounting academia does provide the capital and financial markets with consultants and professionals who hold important positions. In this context, accounting research could be evaluated not only by its direct impacts on practice, but also by its effects on the formation of individuals who take a highly partisan position in the class struggle. When Martins (2012) expresses his political position that ?the role of researchers is also to discuss possibilities for bettering practice, to propose significant alterations and actions which lead to a better world? (p. 227), his lack of a class-oriented view leaves an unanswered question: a better world to whom? Moreover, when he asks whether ?should not making researches and studying accounting be focused on helping accounting as a practice?? (225-226), my political position is that it should not. Instead, making researches and studying accounting should be focused on providing a conscious critique of accounting as a practice, as least committed as possible with the ideology of the dominant classes and the accounting profession. In order to achieve such a critical posture, the Brazilian accounting academia needs to overcome the limitations imposed by the conservative ideological bias of Positivism, to what the deep reflection over the philosophical basis of knowledge generation presented by Martins (2012) is a very important contribution.
Referncias bibliogrficas:
Arnold, P. J. (2012). The political economy of financial harmonization: The East Asian financial crisis and the rise of international accounting standards. Accounting, Organizations and Society, 37(6), 361?381.
Gramsci, A. (2001). Cadernos do C?rcere: Introdu??o ao Estudo da Filosofia. A Filosofia de Benedetto Croce. (C. N. Coutinho, Ed.) (Vol. 1). Rio de Janeiro: Civiliza??o Brasileira.
Hoare, Q., & Smith, G. N. (1999). Selections from the Prison Notebooks of Antonio Gramsci. London: ElecBook.
Martins, E. A. (2012). Pesquisa cont?bil brasileira: uma an?lise filos?fica. Doctoral Thesis, Faculdade de Economia, Administra??o e Contabilidade, University of S?o Paulo, S?o Paulo.
Marx, K. (1859). A Contribution to the Critique of Political Economy. Retrieved January 11, 2013, from http://www.marxists.org/archive/marx/works/1859/critique-pol-economy/preface.htm
Paulani, L. (2009). A crise do regime de acumula??o com domin?ncia da valoriza??o financeira e a situa??o do Brasil. Estudos Avan?ados, 23(66), 25?39.
Portelli, H. (1977). Gramsci e o bloco hist?rico. (A. Peralva, Trad.). Rio de Janeiro: Paz e Terra.
Tinker, A. M., Merino, B. D., & Neimark, M. D. (1982). The normative origins of positive theories: Ideology and accounting thought. Accounting, Organizations and Society, 7(2), 167?200.
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