In this article the author presents the fact of transnationalisation and provides a critical analysis of the different interpretation of these facts. He analyses the process of globalisation and discusses its advantages and disadvantages. He points out that transnationalisation is generally disadvantageous for the countries outside the centre and especially their poorer groups. He directs the attention to the fact that transnationalisation is often a disguise of certain (stronger) national interests; the significance of the implementation of national interests remains. Transnationalisation does not resolve the structural crisis of the world economy that has been prevalent for a long time.
Category Archives: Periodical
A note on the concept of delinking
In this article, Amin summarises his famous theory of "delinking", he opposes the two strategies of the underdeveloped countries: the following, catching up type of development linked with the capitalist world market and the "delinking" one, the "populist-national" strategy linked more organically with their own cultural traditions which is egalitarian in distribution. He differentiates between this latter one and socialism but states that the model "delinking" from the world economy may lead more to that than other model serving the centres of capitalism.
Samir Amin: A note on the concept of delinking. Review, 1987. 3. pp. 435-444.
The illusion of development. Renewal of the concept of semi-pheriphery
In this lecture Arrighi gave in 1939, he provides a very thorough analysis of the idea of "semi-periphery". He questions the frequently quoted connection by which the level of development would be equivalent with the level of industrialisation. He interprets the latest stage of industrialisation as the shift of industry to the periphery and not as a peripheral development. He challenges the idea that unequal exchange would be the main basis of the economic power of the centre. In this process, the placement of capital and labour is more decisive. He puts forward the theory that this economy is based on the double nature of exploitation and exclusion and if a peripheral country fights against one of the two, then it is to lead to the trap of the other in most cases. Catching up is an illusion for the majority because the advantages they want to reach originate from the very fact that others are subordinated to exclusion and exploitation. Analysing the most different regions of the world, he states that on the scale of periphery-semi-periphery-periphery the up or down movement is exceptional. He opposes the anti-system and pro-system semi-periphery which despite the failure of the "anti-system" socialism is mostly more disadvantageous for the pro-system semi-periphery.
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
- Conference of journals of social-critique, Budapest 1991- Brief account
- Gus Fagan : Hungary – The collapse of Kadarism
- Andrea Komlosy, Hannes Hofbauer : Restructuring (Eastern) Europe
- Luciana Castellina : Remaning an Italian communist – reflections on the “death of socialism”
- Vietorisz Tamás : The global information economy, privatisation, and the future of socialism
- Jacques Bidet : A metastructural theory of modernity
- Barry K. Gills, Andre Gunder Frank : The cumulation of accumulation
- Andre Gunder Frank : Marketing demokracy in an undemocratic market
- David Laibman : Toward a working theory of the socialist economy
- Mészáros István : The decreasing rate of utilisation and the capitalist state
- Catherine Samary : The necessary self-government
- Bartosz Julian : Deep down – for undisjoinable values – Theses for the conference in Budapest on April 11-12, 1991
- Hungarian literaure on the system change 1989-1991
- Short introduction of journals present at the conference on April 11-12, 1991
The world turned upside down. The revolutions in Hungary 1956 and 1989
The well-known historian analyses the nature of the political turns of 1956 and 1989 and concludes that there is a sharp controversion between their character.