Category Archives: Former issues

Former issues

The tragedy of the American democracy

Burbach too, explains the Gulf War with the oil interests. He enumerates the American interventions and provides new examples to prove that they have not happened in the interests of "democracy". He proves by the example of Latin America (with the detailed analysis of the recent past of Nicaragua and Mexico) that the neo-liberal policy has failed to consolidate the democratic institutions of the less developed countries. Then discussing the American foreign political activities in Eastern Europe, he shows how does the Latin Americanisation of Eastern Europe serve direct American interests. The author who comes from the United States calls attention to the fact that an inner society which is in crisis in many ways is behind the USA's foreign policy. He sees the future of the American democracy in its broadening, "socialisation" and in the increase in the weight of the civil society.

"The Tragedy of American Democracy," in Low Intensity Democracy: Political Power in the New World Order, London: Pluto Press, 1993.

Former issues

Thesis of an alternative European development

Thesis of an alternative European development (Keynote address by the Left Greens at the conference in the European Parliament in Strass-bourg on 21, November 1931). The programme-like writing starts out from the opportunities offered to aggressive capitalism provided by the collapse of the Soviet model, trying to encourage the search of a new (ecological centred, tolerant, democratic and exploitation denying) perspective of "social emancipation". The authors deny that any vanguard or parly system could play a role in creating such a road of development and stress the need for direct and pluralistic democracy. 
Former issues

The liberal decade: Towards a capitalism in polarisation

This lecture delivered at a Paris conference in 1991 analyses – on the basis of statistical data – the trend which is described in the international literature as the arrival of the age of "post-Fordism". In the author's view, the essence of the change of system lies in the fact that – in contrast to the Keynes-Ford model -the welfare model which used to seem to guarantee both some kind of relative equality ideal and the requirement of economic progress can no longer be coherent and therefore compatible with the demands of the capital. (In harmony with Amin's article on Trans-nationalisation"), the author calls attention to the halt in growth which is a new phenomenon.
Former issues

No. 12 | (Winter 1991)

Eszmélet organised the 1st Theoretical Conference of Journals of Social-critique at the Youth Centre in Csillebérc Budapest on April 10-12, 1991. In this issue, we present selected writings of the participants of the conference (it can be the written version of the speeches made or a different study) and of invited persons who could not come (like Bidet, Laibman, Mészáros or Samary).  We ask our readers to take into account that the original audience of most of the articles translated here were domestic readers of foreign journals, where the authors live. Nevertheless, we hope that articles reflecting the views of British, American, Italian, Austrian, French of Polish authors do have interesting points for Hungarian readers, since most of the studies focus on developments in East Europe, where we live.

In addition to articles related to the conference, we present two writings of André Gunder Frank from the Netherlands. This the continuation of our series presenting the 36 most renowned leftist thinkers that was started with publishing writings from Immanuel Wallerstein and that will be continued soon with articles from Samir Amin. (We have to note that the two articles of Wallerstein, the studies of Gunder Frank and the articles to be published from Amin all were sent to Eszmélet by the authors themselves.)

Table of contents
  1. Conference of journals of social-critique, Budapest 1991- Brief account
  2. Gus Fagan : Hungary – The collapse of Kadarism
  3. Andrea Komlosy, Hannes Hofbauer : Restructuring (Eastern) Europe
  4. Luciana Castellina : Remaning an Italian communist – reflections on the “death of socialism”
  5. Vietorisz Tamás : The global information economy, privatisation, and the future of socialism
  6. Jacques Bidet : A metastructural theory of modernity
  7. Barry K. Gills, Andre Gunder Frank : The cumulation of accumulation
  8. Andre Gunder Frank : Marketing demokracy in an undemocratic market
  9. David Laibman : Toward a working theory of the socialist economy
  10. Mészáros István : The decreasing rate of utilisation and the capitalist state
  11. Catherine Samary : The necessary self-government
  12. Bartosz Julian : Deep down – for undisjoinable values – Theses for the conference in Budapest on April 11-12, 1991
  13. Hungarian literaure on the system change 1989-1991
  14. Short introduction of journals present at the conference on April 11-12, 1991