The main topic of this issue of Eszmélet is the "structural crisis of capitalism". Historical and theoretical analysis is presented on the social-economical features of "new capitalism" of Easter Europe or by the words of A. Tarasov on the "second edition of capitalism" on the semi-periphery. One crucial element of these is the regression in the agricultural development: the extreme weakness of the SME sector, that is a severe step backwards even comparing to the state socialist era. Although there is a historically determined inherent tension between the socialist-communist ideas of emancipation propagated by the state socialist system and its actual reality but a sophisticated judgement on the system is made in relation to the concurrent developments in Western Europe. Time’s Arrow in Tázlár (and in Anthropology)
No. 96 | (Winter 2012)
Table of contents
Shalamov and Solzhenitsyn
Resignation, “Better not to Know”, Being Busy Bees. Variations on Withdrawal
The Guanxi in Asian Interstate Relations. Rethinking the China-centred Feudal Aid System
Until the second half of the 19th century, East and South-East Asian countries were linked by an interstate system, based on the rules of the Chinese Empire, which became known – following Western patterns – as a China-centred feudal aid system. This model is descriptive, thus it is not suitable capturing the inner logic and operational mechanism of these interstate relations. The present study is making an attempt to put the China-centred feudal aid system into its own context and to identify its institutional basis.
Before the times of socialism, Tázlár was a small boondocks community of the Great Plain in Hungary. In the 1970s, when the author started his fieldwork there, he found quick development, constructions and future oriented people. Now, many homes are for sale, the land was privatised but the output is smaller. Since 2012, the primary school belongs again to the church, not because Tázlár residents have nostalgia for the Horthy era but to secure the finances for the institution. The author uses the ‘anthropology of time' approach in his local history and ethnographic analysis.
In the documents section a letter of József Szigeti is published from his archives, which casts light on the background why Ágnes Heller defamed István Mészáros. The sociographic photos of Lewis Wickes Hine from the "dark past of America" illustrate that the historical foundations of the most modern capitalism are still working this days despite any change in its present forms.
It is understandable if someone dos what causes her pleasure. Nevertheless, our pleasures and gratifications, on a shorter or longer term, might threaten our existence. This analysis tries to examine this conflict from many angles.