By analysing the new religious movements – namely neo-protestant evangelical currents – the authors examines how isolated individuals try to fit globalisation and what the new religious communities contribute the nation and politics. They show how religion becomes a market product, how religion and community life is merchandised by these religious movements -which properly fit globalisation -, and how religious fundamentalism generates political fundamentalism.
Category Archives: Periodical
Pope Francis: Changes in the Vatican?
The author describes the changes in the leadership of the Catholic Church that was a surprise for many as a result of development. He shows the main directions of expected future changes stemming from the personality of the pope, the hints for the new strategy of the church, which also includes the possibility of the cooperation with the modestly anticlerical political left.
Resignation, ‘Better not to Know’, Being Busy Bees. Variations on Withdrawal No. 4 The Freedom of ‘Better to Know’ and ‘Better not to Know’’
It occurs often that we do not want to know about things and contexts that can be known, doing it by negligence or on purpose. We do not take into account their existence in making our decisions that is we consider them nonexistent but after all they very exist in their consequences and hinder us in achieving our goals.
On the Nature of Contradictions Ripping Apart Europe
In the "debate" between Samir Amin and Michael Aglietta (see in the previous issue) the first is more realistic in detecting the dynamics of the interests and power structure of the EU. Amin sees well that the "Project Europe" can only be saved if capitalism could be forced to work in a way opposite to its own logic, and this task is hopeless. Nevertheless, at the present development stage of the production forces, leading transnational companies have an elementary interest in maintaining the common market, thus the scenario of the disintegration of the Union, the exit of the individual countries is an impossible scenario. The solution could be the expropriation of the international capital by the people, which is also suggested by Amin, by taking over the control of European institutions and changing them radically.
The Political Economy of the European Integration
The author is expressing his concern that the true essence of the EU is seldom examined. Contrary to its self-definition, which is often accepted by the political left, the EU is not a political union following social principles but a free trade zone. Instead of creating fantasies about the union of national states acting as independent actors, we have to confront the reality of the instability and destruction caused by the expansion of this free trade zone and the neoliberal regulation environment.