According to often heard warnings, humanity faces the threat of an environmental catastrophe. On the other hand, we find such analyses seldom that link the situation of the environment to social developments. In this issue of Eszmélet, some articles try to place the ecological problem in the frame of the political economy of capitalism. We regret that no articles deal with trends damaging the domestic environment but the presented theoretical writings might induce new approaches to the question.

Further articles examine old and new debates. Is it worth to raise the question of making a new Constitution in Hungary? Made East European countries a mistake not to follow the way of Chinese reforms? (The studies have generated serious debates in the editorial board and we asked experts to react to them.) And at the end: what can be utilised from the economic theory and political oeuvre of globally respected János Kornai?

Table of contents

1. Mészáros István : Capitalism and ecological destruction
2. Pål Steigan : Marxism and ecology
3. James O’Connor : The second contradiction of capitalism
4. Eszmélet : Capitalism, Nature, Socialism
5. Eszmélet : Bős-Nagymaros
6. Eszmélet : Underpollution
7. Eszmélet : Greens
8. Elmar Altvater : Ecological restructuring in Western Europe – Ten theses
9. Andor László : Red and green – interview with Pat Devine
10. Alkotmányelőkészítő Társadalmi Bizottság : Declaration on the guidelines to the new Constitution
11. Szigeti Péter : Comments on the draft of the new Constitution (May 1996)
12. Geoffrey Owen : Lessons of the Chinese reforms
13. Mark Selden : Ways out of the common – Socialist and post-socialist development in agriculture in Russia and China
14. Mitja Saje, Jana Rošker, Polonyi Péter, Nyíri Pál : Is China a good example?
15. Bárdos-Féltoronyi Miklós : Distribution is a political question
16. Szabó László : On the simplification of the “shortage-model”
17. Magyar Jenő : Derrida discovers communism