The Wall Street meltdown is not only due to greed and a lack of government regulation of a hyperactive sector. It stems from the crisis of overproduction that has plagued global capitalism since the mid-seventies. The author raises and answers the frequently asked questions.

The author regards 1968 as a focus: the epicentre of the two-decade period that resulted in the socio-economic and cultural-intellectual transformation of the capitalist world system – spanning from decolonisation to the victory of neoliberalism that opened the era of globalisation.

The underlying basis of the "big bang" of the financial-economic crisis is the structural crisis of the capitalist system: access to the natural resources around the globe is becoming restricted, thus sharpening the conflict between North and South. For the first time in history, this actually threatens the future of mankind and the Earth. The author also presents the main measures necessary to make the long transition from capitalism to socialism – a solution to this pressing problem.

The master of world-systems analysis gives an interview to Le Monde and writes his commentary The Depression: A Long-Term View on October 15. We have reached the last phase in the downturn of a Kondratieff cycle, when virtual decline becomes real: bubbles are bursting. The depression has started. Capitalism has come to its end, the present system cannot survive. It may take the form of a classic nominal deflation, with all its resulting negative consequences for ordinary people.

The social-economic transition to capitalism in Hungary featured a heavy external debt and the consequent limitations stemming from it. Without knowing these limitations no present problems can be properly understood. First of all, the determination of the economic structure of Hungary – which supports external debt accumulation – has its roots in this fact. The operation of the political system is adequate for the "banana republic status" of Hungary. Parochial political decisions also contribute to the creation of an environment in which the forint can successfully be attacked.