China: Rural problems and uneven development
The study gives detailed data on questions of demography, labour migration and unemployment in China. "What concerns market economy and privatisation, the present tendency is in fact the establishing of a competitive economic structure, and making optimal resource allocation by market forces. But … how can hundreds of millions of rural inhabitants integrate to the market? How can they become potential competitors? If it is a ‘rule of nature' that stronger ones inevitably exclude all losers from competition then it is very likely that those losers will come from rural areas." .
New development of consumerism in Chinese society in the late 1990s
The economic crisis about 2000 has not left China intact – its exports decreased relevantly both in volume and value. Chinese authorities opted for stimulating domestic demand to counterweight the unfavourable developments, which required establishing consumer mentality for Chinese people. "It became the first time in the history of China that the idea of consumption received full moral support. Consumer behaviour developed into national ideology." On the other hand, Chinese are increasingly realising that the gap between the poor fighting for daily survival and the rich consuming luxury goods is getting wider in their society still called ‘socialism'.
Made in China? The Crisis of US Imperialism
US elites more and more regard the quickly developing China as an economic and political rival. That is why the US makes increasing attempts to curb Chinese exports by administrative measures, and isolate China in international relations. It seems both attempts will fail. The offensive of Chinese diplomacy hinders the hegemony of US imperialism in an increasing number of regions in the world.
No. 70 | (Summer 2006)
This issue of Eszmélet addresses two major and historically relevant topics: the popular front, of which actuality is given by the anniversary of the Spanish civil war, and the second is the so-called organisational issue that is unresolved internationally as we entered into the new era of globalisation. In order to contribute to raise the level of intellectual debates of the political left in Hungary, it is important to sum up the relevant aspects of the oeuvre of Lenin concerning this topic.
In Hungary, so far no unbiased analysis was made on the international support to the forces of the Spanish Republic, the division and reasons of the split in the Spanish left, the role of anarchists, the weight of Soviet help in the civil war etc. Conclusions from the articles published can be relevant to restore unity of the present left. The Leninist experience on the organisational issue can also be linked to this question. What are the traps to be avoided by the present left? What were the profoundly different structural features of party development before and after 1917? Have we faced the progressive heritage of pre-Stalinist Marxism? Have we wasted 18 years since the system change? On historically and theoretically analysing the past probably we have not but concerning lessons to be learned – certainly yes.
Table of contents
- Harsányi Iván : Popular front – looking back over 70 years
- Farkas Miklós : When World War II began? The military coup against the Second Spanish Republic broke out 70 years ago
- Mezei Bálint : Soviet officers in the Spanish Civil War
- Konok Péter : Is the enemy of my enemy my friend? The failure of the Spanish popular front in May 1937
- Zolcsák Attila : Anarchist federalism and Spanish regionalism
- Ana Bazac : Present-day popular fronts
- Bánki Éva : Europe − for cartoon heroes On Aleš Debeljak: Europe without Europeans
- Joaquín Bustelo : Critical remarks to the idea of “democratic centrism”
- Michael A. Lebowitz : The politics of assumption, the assumption of politics
- Krausz Tamás : Lenin and the “organisation question” – historical reconstruction
Popular front – looking back over 70 years
The new political thinking and practice, on which the idea and practice of the popular front was built, essentially opposed the general political thinking of its time. The Seventh World Congress of Comintern did not discuss ready-made thought-blocks and distilled ideas – it had to face the failure of the final-target oriented policy of communist parties in the political and social situation had developed by the 1930's. The antifascist popular front was both necessary political practice and a result of theoretical considerations.