Category Archives: Periodical

The rise of world poverty

Relying on statistical data Ross too, argues that the past few years of the world economy have been the age of decline and dramatic polarisation. Amidst growing impoverishment the performance of the "small tigers" of Asia can be considered as an exception and not the model of advancement. The Fukuyama apotheosis of liberal capitalism is just an apology denied by a multitude of fact.

Notes on transnationalisation

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.

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