We have undertaken a big task in this issue to depict the main currents in the global Marxist revival. Of course this is the programme of Eszmélet but now the time has arrived for making an account. What happened to Marxism after the system change and the collapse of the Soviet Union? Hungarian Marxists first lamented that Marxism was declining, because it became a state supporting ideology. After it has lost its legitimising ideology role, the very same intellectuals have withdrawn their support for it saying that there was noting to expect from Marxists views. In fact it has been proven that Marxism as a critical theory and practice of the existing world order still today an indispensable critical tool for revolutionary thinking. Nevertheless, also the crisis and revival of Marxism hinges on the fate of movements rejecting the capitalist system, searching community values and an economic alternative to capitalism. It is questionable and should be debated whether the collapse of state socialism was also the collapse of Marxist dialectics or the fall of state socialism was caused by Marxist dialectics degenerating to a theoretical ‘skeleton'?

Among the causes and consequences of Marxism in history the factual examination of the Russian revolution and Lenin's heritage cannot be avoided. Our readers can find contributions also to this filed in the current issue. First of all the critical exploration and valuation of Lenin's historical performance is a hot topic these days. Authors of this issue search answers between old stile communist and new style capitalist apologies.

Table of contents

1. Göran Therborn : After dialetics – Radical social theory in a post-communist world
2. Krausz Tamás : The Marxism of Lenin – a summary
3. Marcello Musto : A critique for our times: For the rediscovery of Karl Marx
4. Pankovits József : Gramsci again – notes to the newest Gramsci research
5. Balázs Gábor : A French passion: Trotskyism (Part 1)
6. Michael Kelly : Marxism in France
7. Bartha Eszter : Immature youth? – Walks of life in post-industrial society
8. Eszmélet : In memoriam Sándor Kovacsek (1926-2007)
9. Szarka Klára : Lajos Tabák (1904- 2007)
10. Tütő László : Who milks profit? or can a milk bag fail? – Microeconomics for grown up children
11. Nyina A. Dmitrijeva : Lenin and the Russian intelligentsia – Overview on the history of the “philisopher’s ship”
12. orosz értelmiségiek : The relevance of October to us Russians and to the world
13. BAL : 56 defeated in 1957 and in 1990

Péter Agárdi: "Having a past such as this to confess"* National culture – leftist tradition, Argumentum Kiadó, Budapest, 2006.

(*Attila József: By the Danube, 1936 translated by John Székely) 

The article uses practical approach with everyday examples of the application of IT and communication devices and software showing that the use of simple looking technology how deeply affects everyday life and also democracy.

The article discovers "the ocean" in a "drop" – it assumes that the drop contains the ocean also showing its essence. Making it so strongly as the drop that inspired the article dissolves in the "ocean" only showing the broader context. The drop in this case does not exists for itself at all (the aspect of epistemology), because this is the only way to show – in an optimal case – that the "general" is not against the "personal" (Marx) but for him or her (the aspect of social theory).

The Hungarian information society – regardless to its modest development – is increasingly divided. In addition to the known reasons, it should be considered that the majority of the outcasts have neither direct contact with PCs and internet (the feature devices of information society), nor with persons using these devices on a daily basis. In order to break the cultural and knowledge barriers, that mostly responsible for the digital division, we have to launch such IT programs that regenerate incomplete social contacts in order to speed up the spread of innovation, new values and attitudes.