Suchergebnisse

The political transformations in Eastern Europe in fall 1989 may well be termed revolutions, although the sudden movement away from communism was accompanied by little violence in most cases. Almost everywhere, communist leadership was shown to be an empty shell, exhausted & incapable of fighting for its own existence. These events pose considerable challanges for the analytical capabilities of the social sciences, especially in regard to predictive models. In this light the following topics are addressed: the classical concept of science; the decay of determinism; laws, empirical uniformities, & inductivism; causality; hypercomplexity & chaos; feedback & nonlinearity; & the future of the social sciences. 24 References. M. Meeks

The political process mechanism is examined to find out when, how, & why it produces an outcome, through an analysis which rests upon an articulate theory of human behavior. The theory is axiomatic, presented in mathematical language, & firmly connected to traditions in psychology, political science, & the economics of utilitarianism & political economy. The theorems offered identify the conditions to be satisfied for a political process to produce an outcome of stability, & suggest the sort of factors that will bear upon these outcomes. Apart from the structural factors which influence access relationships, such outcomes are determined by the balance of benefits & sacrifices, of risks & gains, involved in the outcome, & in demand behavior on the part of each of the participants, & in the relations of dependence, strength, & prestige among the participants. 29 Figures. Modified HA.