In this issue of Eszmélet, we have asked prominent historians to tell their opinion why state socialism had developed. Of course a debate has emerged whether this term can be used at all to describe the social system of the so-called "forty years". This period – over which we have better and better historic overview – is characterised from different angles by articles on the Cold War, the history literature of the "seventy years", the special status of women labour and on the collapse of the system. We return to a question posed in the 20^th issue: what is the historical path of social democracy and what alternatives it offers nowadays?