Murillo Arroyo, Francisco JavierArrizabalo Montoro, XabierDel Rosal Crespo, Mario2024-02-082024-02-082019-01Arrizabalo Montoro, X., del Rosal, M. and Javier Murillo Arroyo, F. (2019), The Debate on Pension Systems: The Paradigmatic Cases of Chile and Spain. Am J Econ Sociol, 78: 195-223. https://doi.org/10.1111/ajes.122620002-924610.1111/ajes.12262https://hdl.handle.net/20.500.14352/100320The paper is focused on pensions systems in the light of two case studies which are antagonistic within the capitalist economy. On the one hand, the case of the Spanish pension scheme, based on the principle of intergenerational solidarity. This system, conquered by the working class after decades of struggle, constitutes the backbone of the Spanish Social Security system thanks to the creation and development of indirect and deferred wages. On the other hand, the Chilean pension scheme imposed by the Pinochet dictatorship and subsequently maintained. This system, based on individual capitalization and private management, rejects the principle of solidarity and, therefore, it makes impossible the construction of a decent pension structure. The comparison of the Spanish and the Chilean pension systems can be expressed in just one revealing fact: while in Spain pensions reach on average 79% of the last salary earned, in Chile benefits barely reach 33% for male workers and 25% for female workers. The analysis of both cases is framed on the critique of political economy and hence it is totally opposed to the current mainstream in economics. Instead of assuming methodological individualism and a harmonious view of human societies, as orthodoxy does, the critical paradigm conceives capitalist economy as a dialectic process determined by the existence of social classes with different and opposed interests.engAttribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 Internationaljournal article1536-7150https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1111/ajes.12262restricted accessJ26E24Sistemas de pensionesSeguridad SocialSalario diferidoChileEspañaEconomía53 Ciencias Económicas