The Debate on Pension Systems: The Paradigmatic Cases of Chile and Spain By XABIER ARRIZABALO MONTORO*, MARIO DEL ROSAL † and F. JAVIER MURILLO ARROYO ‡ ABSTRACT. This article is focused on pension systems in the light of two case studies that are antagonistic within the capitalist economy. On the one hand, the Spanish pension scheme, based on the principle of intergenerational solidarity, was achieved by the working-class after decades of struggle. It 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, first imposed by the Pinochet dictatorship, is based on a funded system and private management. It 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 the average pension in Spain is 79 percent of the last salary earned, benefits in Chile barely reach 33 percent for male workers and 25 percent for female workers. The analysis of both cases is framed in American Journal of Economics and Sociology, Vol. 78, No. 1 (January, 2019). DOI: 10.1111/ajes.12262 © 2019 American Journal of Economics and Sociology, Inc. *Professor at the Complutense University of Madrid (UCM) since 1993. Director of the Instituto Marxista de Economía (IME). Co-Director of Research Group in Political Economy Capitalism and Uneven Development. Director of Continuous Training Degree Critical Analysis of Capitalism: Marxist Method and His Application to the Research of Current Global Economy (UCM). Author of Capitalism and World Economy and numer- ous other books and articles. Participant in many international congresses. Supervisor of 15 doctoral theses. PhD in Economics. Other degrees in Planning, Public Policies and Development, and Sociology. Email: xam@ccee.ucm.es † Adjunct Professor at the Complutense University of Madrid (UCM). Author of several articles and chapters about the European economy, Marxist economics, and monetary the- ory. Researcher at the Instituto Marxista de Economía. PhD in Economics (UCM) and a de- gree in Politics (National University of Distance Education, UNED). Email: mariodel@ucm.es ‡ Adjunct Professor at the Complutense University of Madrid (UCM). Author of Marxist Analysis of the “Spanish Miracle” (2018, Maia, Madrid). Published several articles about income distribution and wages. Researcher at the Instituto Marxista de Economía. PhD in Economics Email: fjmurillo@ccee.ucm.es