Eszmélet turns 20. We celebrated its 20^th anniversary by making a special issue in Russian published in Moscow. We remained faithful to the original idea of socialism: the community mode of production and social structure. The restored rule of capitalist relationships could not give a humanistic answer to the fall of "old socialism" rooted in Stalinism and conquered by the state. Our journal gave multifaceted analysis on the inhumanity of the "capitalism with a human face".  We have shown that international capital has not put East Europe on the track of catching up with the West but exactly the opposite: leading to the misery of semi-periphery by "capitalism 2.0". By now, it has been proven that "good capitalism" is only a utopia, and practically rather a black utopia.

Although, despite our goal, we could not induce an alternative broad anti-capitalism movement with mass support since it lacks the forces of social support but we see what we should avoid at least. The "resurrection" of the left under socialist parties in East Europe became a puppet of global capital as it did globally downgrading itself into just a different form of neoliberalism. This road came to its end. On the other hand, the way of thinking and acting that degrades the anti-capitalist left to a sect or political subculture – and voluntarily leaves the political scene thus making a service to the rulers – cannot be continued either. Such political movements that do not have viable alternatives at their hand in their actual environment are deemed to fail.

Saying that, this issue is focusing on the (further) analysis of the features of the present crisis of capitalism. István Mészáros, the author of Beyond Capital is analysing the nature of the crisis foreseen by him for many years. Others reveal that in its way out of the crisis the neoliberal state found the poor and helpless as its main enemies and is criminalising the social problem.  Interviews with recently passed away Giovanni Arrighi and Peter Gowan certainly make the readers think on social alternatives and finding the ways for community production and the practical movement.

The essay focuses on presenting Peter Markus' 1988 lecture, which makes a critical analysis of the reform programs suggested that time. The lecture makes an account of almost all threats and possible mistakes that came true after the systemic change as actual experience.

The history of systemic changes in East-Europe began in Poland. The negotiated transformation that was often presented as an ideal case has been celebrated at its 20th anniversary both by the political elite and mainstream media. The article highlights the less known background events that in fact set the path for the Polish systemic change. The self-transformation of Solidarity, the fall of the idea of workers' self-governance and the parallel advance of the neoliberal model is at centre. How could the neoliberal scenario of the IMF and World Bank triumph in a country where a mass movement of predominantly workers with ten million members was also on the stage?

The possibility of a just and globally sustainable society and the vital necessity for totally eradicating capital from the social metabolic reproduction are uniquely combined in a dialectical unity in our present day. The power of capital in the midst of its deepening structural crisis now only able to increase social tension, further damage to the nature and risky new war projects. Recently, as the basis of the quasi-colonial control over Latin-America is melting permanently, peoples of this hemisphere can realise the Bolivarian vision of a solidarity-based social-political unity giving a pioneering model for mankind to be followed.

In a world of lost hope the political-intellectual search of Hugo Chavez and the development – or maybe the sheer existence – of the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela is a peculiar challenge for social analysis. The article reviews the political history of Venezuela in the past 20 years "from fact to fact" centred on the social, domestic and foreign policy achievements of the decade long presidency of Chavez full of vicissitudes.