Suchergebnisse

The power of the powerless / Václav Havel -- Spiritual values, independent initiatives, and politics / Rudolf Battěk -- Catholicism and politics / Václav Benda -- On the question of Chartism / Václav Cerný -- The human rights movement and social progress / Jiří Hájek -- Prospects for democracy and socialism in eastern Europe / Ladislav Hejdánek -- Chartism and "real socialism" / Miroslav Kusý -- Who really is isolated? / Jiří Ruml -- The alternative community as revolutionary avant-garde / Petr Uhl -- Thoughts inside a tightly-corked bottle / Josef Vohryzek -- On not living in hatred / Josef Zvěřina -- Appendix, Charter 77 Declaration

"Written shortly after the formation of Charter 77, the essays in this collection are among the most original and compelling pieces of political writing to have emerged from central and Eastern Europe during the whole of the post-war period. Václav Havel's essay provides the title for the book. It was read by all the contributors who in turn responded to the many questions which Havel raises about the potential power of the powerless. The essays explain the anti-democratic features and limits of Soviet-type totalitarian systems of power. They discuss such concepts as ideology, democracy, civil liberty, law and the state from a perspective which is radically different from that of people living in liberal western democracies. The authors also discuss the prospects for democratic change under totalitarian conditions. Steven Lukes' introduction provides an invaluable political and historical context for these writings. The authors represent a very broad spectrum of democratic opinion, including liberal, conservative and socialist"--From Google Books.

An excerpt from a long interview with Claus Offe conducted during Nov & Dec 1982 (the full text is published in Offe, Claus, Contradictions of the Welfare State, Boston: M.I.T. Press, 1984). Discussed are Offe's ideas on: the fundamental contradiction between capitalist systems & the welfare state; "decommodified" policies & institutions; the dangers of bureaucratic domination; the questions of legitimacy & normative integration; & the welfare state's surveillance of activities formerly considered private matters. Offe summarizes his recent work on trade unionism, labor markets, white-collar workers, the disadvantaged, & new social movements, in which he challenges core assumptions of classical Marxism. Recommendations for the development of democratic socialist politics are offered. R. Wright