Suchergebnisse

The article deals with the factors that affect the tax morale of the population of the Visegrad Four countries, i.e. Poland, Hungary, Slovakia and the Czech Republic. The evaluation of the answers of the respondents of the European Values Study to the question of whether they justify tax evasion serves as an indicator of tax morale. The authors work on the one hand with the frequency of answers expressing a complete rejection of fraud and on the other hand with average answers on a scale from 1 to 10. Respondents from Slovakia were found to be justifying tax fraud the most, and Polish and Hungarian residents agreed with tax evasion the least. Furthermore, the dependence of tax morale on gender, religion and satisfaction with the political system was analysed. Using contingency tables, it was found that all the monitored factors have a statistically significant effect on the tendency of people to justify tax evasion. The only exceptions were the factor of religion in the Czech Republic and the influence of satisfaction with the political system in Poland, where the relationship with tax morale was not confirmed.

Der Verfasser zeichnet die Karriere, Grundsätze und Politik des Schöpfers des deutschen "Wirtschaftwunders", um zu veranschaulichen, daß dieses auf einer sozialen Marktwirtschaft gründete. Anders in der Tschechoslowakei seit 1989, wo die Konzeption einer "Marktwirtschaft ohne Attribute" proklamiert wurde. Bei der Absenz legislativer Regulative für das Funktionieren und für die Kontrolle der auf dem Markt wirkenden Kräfte verwandele sich die "unsichtbare Hand des Marktes" in eine dunkle Hand wirtschaftlicher Kriminalität und Korruption. Es kommen solche private und Gruppeninteressen zur Geltung, die jegliche Verantwortung gegenüber der Gesellschaft verachten. In Anlehnung auf die Grundthesen des Werkes von Adam Smith "The theory of moral sentiments" folgert der Autor, daß ohne Gerechtigkeit auf die Dauer keine Gesellschaft existieren kann. (BIOst-Hrs)

The ambiguities of Immanuel Kant's political philosophy, particularly his social contract theory, are discussed. In large part, Kant's political philosophy stemmed from his attitudes toward the Englightenment & the French Revolution, & his theory of social contract served as a foundation for enlightened absolutism. Comparison of Kant's thought with Thomas Hobbes's theory, particularly the right to disobedience & revolt, & with John Locke's theory of social contract & the development & context of the right to revolt, illuminates some key difficulties in Kant's political, moral, & legal theory. Adapted from the source document.

First, the author examines European & world lessons for the study of Czech transformation. Then, he describes legacies of the (mostly communist) past & the risks of transformation: atomization, demoralization, & materialization. The main topic is the failure of the social sciences, which isolated themselves instead of engaging in the reform process, verbally governed by mainstream neoclassical economics. In particular, sociology failed to show the moral dimension & embeddedness of economic processes in the social structure. Most tasks have thus remained for the future, which will stream transformation research towards (1) multidisciplinarity & complexity, (2) the replacement of unidimensional & static conceptual apparatus with a multidimensional & dynamic one, & (3) the understanding of endogeneity of social research & the explicit acknowledgment of its policy dimension.

The text focuses on the description & evaluation of an Islamic social system in the framework of the so-called Islamic moral economy based on obligatory alms (zakat) & the waqf system. Attention is paid to the main institutions of the Islamic social order such as mosques, madrasas, foundations, waqf property & forms of financing. The main principles & differences in charitable activities in Sunni, Shi'a Islam, Christianity & Sufi orders are highlighted & analyzed. The article defines & clarifies the main historic landmarks of Islamic charity while providing a survey of contemporary Islamic NGO. Common features of the Islamic NGOs & their sporadic links to Islamist movements & terrorists are also discussed. The article concludes with an identification of the main reasons for the relatively small impact of the measures taken after the September 11. Adapted from the source document.

The article is based on the first sociological study of the attitudes and preferences of Czech men who identify themselves as gay towards (gay) fatherhood, family, and parenthood. The main arguments of the study evolve around the themes of the (overwhelmingly positive) parental desires of the gay men participating in the study; their internalised moral dilemmas connected to gay fatherhood; the reproductive choices and limits that structure the attitudes of gay men towards parenthood and family; and gender stereotypes about family/parenting models and the roles these men occupy. The article is divided into two main parts. The fi rst part introduces the context and current state of sociological scholarship and research on gay fatherhood and homoparentality. The second part of the article discusses results, an interpretation, and an analysis of the empirical findings of the study.