On the Hungarian version of István Mészáros: Beyond Capital: Toward a theory of Transition New York, Monthly Review Press 2000

In 2009 events were organised all around the world to commemorate the 20th anniversary of the systemic change in East Europe. The ruling elites of this region, following mainstream US "impulses" as well their own interests, have utilised all the media to deliver self-praising self-celebrations on the occasion. The media in Hungary push system criticising voices to the extreme right thus opening the way for the most violent protectors of the capitalist system. Now it seems that in 1989 all the forces that wanted a change were united solidly for the restoration of capitalism and the exclusive rule of bourgeoisie. The relevance of global trends is neglected and the new groups in power are presented as "freedom fighters". This is not only garbling the clear content of the past 20 years but also keeping the catastrophic impacts of the present global capitalist crisis justified, in a sense – paraphrasing the statement of Lukács in negative:"the worst capitalism is always better as the best socialism." The attempts and humanistic aspirations for finding the possible way between state socialism and capitalist restoration or between the unlimited state economy and the unlimited free market are consequently kept out of memory on the global scene. In the year of the "celebrations" it is especially necessary to show that there are such social and intellectual forces in Hungary that have foreseen the consequences of the systemic change and analysed them from a system-critical viewpoint, meaning they did not served the new elite in power. The basic goal of Eszmélet is to draw attention to those currents and political, organisational, theoretical and social achievements of that time that were both anticapitalist (or non-capitalist) and antistalinist. In issues of this year we would like to present – mostly by Hungarian documents, studies and analyses – that there was a maybe marginalised but nevertheless still existing "third way" of which importance can be seen now especially among the conditions of the present global crisis and in searching the actual way out of it.

A certain renewal can be noticed in this issue. On the one hand, reacting to the systemic crisis of capitalism this issue focuses on the alternatives to it and on the search of surpassing it stronger than before, at the same time also making theory and practice getting closer. Several articles address social self-governance in historic and present perspectives as well, that can contribute to the search of feasible alternatives. On the other hand, we are launching a new column on "culture" which has the challenge to show the devastation caused by the capitalist system in theatre, films, literature, everyday life and sports as well as showing the existing roots of and opportunities for humanistic culture but without falling back into the labyrinth of harmful nostalgia for state socialism. We have an interesting article on Fidel Castro casting new light on the Cuban intervention in Africa in 1961-1988. Our book reviews analyse the first volume of Beyond Capital from István Mészáros and denounce the specific misinterpretation of history that is going on in the Baltic countries.

Table of contents

1. Announcement of the Left Alternative Association on Leaving the National Round Table Negotiations, on November 10,1989
2. Krausz Tamás : Speech at the Last Assembly of the Hungarian Socialist Workers Party (MSZMP) and the First Assembly of the Socialist Party (MSZP), October 7, 1989
3. Samir Amin : The Road of Developing with Socialist Orientation
4. Mészáros István : The Present Crisis (experpt from Beyond Capital IV)
5. Lucien Sève : Communism of the 21st Century
6. Michael Hardt : Common Weath
7. Goran Marković : Social Preconditions of Self-Management
8. Peter North : Constructing Civil Society? Green Money in Transition Hungary
9. Hajdu János : Perestroika – Change or the Empires of the Evil?
10. Szűcs Katalin Ágnes : Systemic change in the theatre
11. Tütő László : Capital or What You do not Want
12. Nagy László : Castrated History – Symptoms of Weimarization in the Baltic States
13. Tütő László : On the Difference of Amending or Surpassing a System
14. Ignacio Ramonet, Fidel Castro : The Battle at Cuito Cuanavale

Dear Delegates, dear Comrades!

We are witnessing the end of the old regime. The destruction of the so called state socialist structures has also been put on the agenda in Hungary. However, we cannot even dream of a successful destruction without construction. Without a clear evaluation of our situation, we are facing the ever increasing danger of chaos.

Even history warns us of "introducing" liberal democracy rather than the elite rule based on the one-party-system. We don't want a "new type" of elite rule. We want a truly democratic development, where the multi-party Parliamentary system is based on the system of territorial and workers' self-governments. Only this development can be a guarantee against the uncontrolled rule of the old and new elites. Political democracy is inseparable from economic democracy. Where there is no employee ownership, there is no real democracy. Effective management requires the interest of the employees, whose highest form is employee ownership.
Property reform can restore the capitalist form but only with the condition that workers' collectives have a say in the division of profit. Alternatively, Hungary is facing massive unemployment, impoverishment, the unscrupulous rule of the International Monetary Fund and a new type of requisitioning. Hungarian workers should not be in a worse position than their Western European counterparts. Any leftist socialist party including the Hungarian Socialist Workers' Party has to declare this as a fundamental principle.
Comrades! In today's Hungary, democratic development can only be guaranteed by a strong leftist party, which is primarily based on the industrial and agricultural workers, employees and the producers of intellectual and material wealth. Namely, we speak of a leftist, Marxist, socialist party, and not of a liberal, socialistic elite party; of a party that promotes communal ownership and socialism, and not bourgeois restoration; of a party, which is built "from below", out of the base organizations, and not of the conservation of the Stalinist rule of the political and economic bureaucracy; of a party, which is the party of the membership, and not of various fractions and elite groups; of a party, whose highest forum is the congress, and not the privileged caste of the party apparatus; of a party, which undergoes a moral purification and does not cry for the turncoats, who show up in new parties in the difficult times, refusing to represent those in whose name they ruled for decades. The Hungarian Socialist Workers' Party can no longer be the party of careerists. One advantage of the multi-party system will undoubtedly be a moral renewal and a farewell to many members of the party, who only wanted to advance their personal career.
The crisis of the party is also one of the manifestations of the crisis of our development, the national and international reasons of which I have no time to discuss here. One manifestation of the crisis of the party is the spread of momentary improvisation, as someone formulated it in the corridor, "policy-making from the pocket". At the same time, "cameralism", the clique policy of the apparatuses, causes repulsion among the party membership and the delegates. Thanks to this distorted tradition, theory has become totally superficial in the party and some party leaders would be even happy to get rid of Marxism in order to preserve their positions of power.
Indeed, both the liberal and the conservative wings of the party are ready to split the party in order to maintain power. The great ambitions of self-nominated leaders are threatening us. We have to see that ideological issues do not play a key role in this game. What we are witnessing is rather a conflict of very different social interests within the party. The younger forces of the apparatus were interested in certain changes, and they wanted a bigger role and more influence than they had had before. But we should identify other interests. Apart from the workers' scattered interests, the interests of the financial and manager bureaucracy and various lobbies are strongly present in the party, together with the forces in the apparatus, who want to preserve their privileges, and for this purpose they are willing to make a compromise with the former groups. The real precondition of the rebirth of the party is the "elimination" of these two different types of groups, which have, nevertheless, many common interests. The split in the party can be avoided if the membership is able to control its own apparatus. This split would entail the total dispersion of the left since it is by no means sure that the party will be split in two; and such a development would trigger a unique combination of bourgeois restoration and a Stalinist type of restoration in its methodology.
While the restrictive governmental policy dictated by the International Monetary Fund plunges the country into an ever deepening crisis, the party is unable to control its own government and direct it to a new trajectory. This is largely due to the fact that the party leadership has disintegrated, and the fractional and personal power ambitions have paralyzed its ability to act. The influence of the party has been massively reduced and, besides the democratic opposition, we can witness the appearance of anti-democratic groups with a rightist demagogy on the Hungarian political scene. The party leadership were engaged in internal debates, rather than concentrating on the elections. Fake debates divided the party while in the media, primarily on TV and radio, the old Stalinists appeared as new liberals, waiting for a change in power and scolding the mistaken policy of the party, to which they had actively contributed. Comrades! We need a new party leadership under the presidency of Comrade Nyers, who – together with many young comrades from the countryside – will be able to prepare for the elections and convince the population in the face of the oppositionist demagogy that the real guarantee of social security, the prevention of the continuing impoverishment of millions, the linking of human rights with social justice can only come from a socialist party, which builds on the tradition of the labour movement. Today's task is to create such a party.
Thank you for your attention.