With the 1997 crises of Asia, an economic crisis began that is unprecedented since World War II. Globalisation itself would be able to faciliate the elimination of the social tension accumulated in our world. At present conditions, however, it is more likely that the contradictions of the world economy would materialize in great crisis.

Globalization is a logical outcome of world capitalist development. Its roots can be found in the propensity of capital to grow. Looking back from the contemporary stage of concentration, earlier theories that claimed the power of small enterprise look ridiculous. The author outlines the impact of global economic trends on the Hungarian economy and draws some conclusions for practical economic policies too.

In the recent financial crises, the IMF, the World Bank, the WTO and the OECD have been unable to forecast and manage the market disturbances. Instead of tough ..reform packages", the governments should turn their attention to the roots of the evil, i.e. the liberalized flow of transnational capital.

The Polish economist Michal Kalecki agreed with Thorstein Veblen that the main problem of capitalism is underproduction and instability. Both believed that only socialism would be able to tackle these through centralized economic planning. Based on his practical experience, Kalecki developed a more sophisticated system to achieve these goals.