Most of Hungarians are surprised by the global economic crisis: "How is it? We have been told that capitalism is a good thing but then what is this crisis?" Marxist analysis is far deeper: it is analysing the general structural crisis of the system that is deeper than a business cycle. 1987, 1993, 2008 black Monday, black Tuesday, black Wednesday…

The old French philosopher, still maintaining his membership in the communist party, is confessing to the validity or even increasing relevance of the idea of communism. It is, in contracts with the state and power centred socialism, based on the appropriation of the productive and trading assets by collective producers. This has never been "tried out" thus it makes no sense to speak about the fall of communism. If we are now: "aiming less than communism then we will slide down with social democrats who are accepting all." To facilitate action the traditional vertical-hierarchic organisation of the party should be less preferred to by horizontal and network-like forms of organisation.

A lecture held at the European Social Forum on the soon to be published book Common Wealth (with co-author Antonio Negri) reviewing the history of alterglobalisation movements, analysing features of metropolitan struggles, the possibilities of revolutionary transition and also the role of joy and laughter in politics and the movement.

Self-management aims, not only for changing state organization and the functioning of economic units, but also at completely new and different kinds of relationships between individuals and social groups. It could become an influential concept, even without the involvement of political parties, or despite their propaganda. Society must be organized horizontally and not vertically, in order to lay down the requirements for self-management, and vice versa: only self-organization in social struggles can act as a basis for horizontal social organization.

The social geographer presents a historic retrospective on the alternative, green or community currencies in Hungary. Is it a nice fit to the Washington Consensus or a promise of a radical civic society or maybe the revival or earlier mutual help forms? How is this seen by participants, what can we learn from the experience?