Suchergebnisse

While agreeing with Martin Müller's intent of filling the gap in contemporary social sciences that the lack of interest in the Global East constitutes, the article engages in polemics withsolution postulated by Müller. The Author argues for a conceptualization of the Global East that would not be based on its essence, but rather on its place in the global division of labor. The "strategic essentialism" postulated by Müller is refuted for three reasons: a reactionary character of identity politics as such, its capture by the Right and doubtful value of socio-cultural identity of most societies of Global East. Instead an alter-universalism is proposed that would be different from the colonial universalism of the West and focused on constructing a common front of progressive--emancipatory struggles.

While agreeing with Martin Müller's intent of filling the gap in contemporary social sciences that the lack of interest in the Global East constitutes, the article engages in polemics withsolution postulated by Müller. The Author argues for a conceptualization of the Global East that would not be based on its essence, but rather on its place in the global division of labor. The "strategic essentialism" postulated by Müller is refuted for three reasons: a reactionary character of identity politics as such, its capture by the Right and doubtful value of socio-cultural identity of most societies of Global East. Instead an alter-universalism is proposed that would be different from the colonial universalism of the West and focused on constructing a common front of progressive--emancipatory struggles. ; Zgadzając się z postulowanym przez Martina Müllera uzupełnieniem luki we współczesnych naukach społecznych, jaką stanowi niewielkie zainteresowanie kondycją Globalnego Wschodu, artykuł podejmuje polemikę z zaproponowanym przez niego rozwiązaniem owego problemu. Autor proponuje spojrzenie na Globalny Wschód nie w kategoriach esencjalistycznych, ale poprzez pryzmat jego miejsca w międzynarodowym podziale pracy. "Strategiczny esencjalizm", za którym opowiada się Müller, jest zdaniem Autora błędny ze względu na trzy związane z nim problemy: reakcyjny charakter polityki tożsamości jako takiej, jej przejęcie przez środowiska prawicowe oraz wątpliwą wartość sporej części rozwiązań społeczno-kulturowych stanowiących historyczną tożsamość społeczeństw Globalnego Wschodu. Zamiast tego tekst proponuje konstrukcję alter-uniwersalizmu, który dystansowałby się od uniwersalizmu kolonialnego Zachodu, koncentrując się na budowie wspólnego frontu walk postępowo-emancypacyjnych.

Niniejszy tekst stanowi krytyczny esej poświęcony książce Kacpra Pobłockiego Kapitalizm. Historia krótkiego trwania. Zawiera on szereg luźno powiązanych uwag dotyczących kwestii założeń metodologicznych, wartości eksploatacyjnej, aktualności i nowatorskości, a także społecznego funkcjonowania książki Pobłockiego. Spośród poruszanych tu problemów trzy mają dominujący charakter: metodologiczny problem wyjaśnienia początków kapitalizmu oraz społecznego znaczenia systemu (debata między marksizmem a teorią zależności); omówienie historycznych przykładów niekapitalistycznych systemów społecznych; problem teleologii historii w wyjaśnieniach historycznych oraz jego ukryta obecność w terminologii sugerującej liniowy rozwój historii ludzkości.

The essay is a review of Michael Hardt's and Antonio Negri's Assembly and it aims at a critical evaluation of its empirical relevance and political usefulness. It focuses on two issues. The first one is general and as such relates to the global context of struggles against capital: the notion of social factory and its implications for political action. The essay argues that the concept of social factory grasped an important development within twentieth century capitalism. It is, however, becoming more and more irrelevant as living labour is being systematically replaced by automation. Unlike the social media or other similar forms of "digital capitalism" analysed in Assembly, a very large part of automation does not depend on any kind of continuous, multitudinous human input. It rather aims at uploading the general intellect into the system of autonomous machines, making them independent from the human element. The second issue this essay examines is the recent populist-conservative turn and the situation of peripheral countries that had no part in the recent progressive cycle of struggles (Arab Spring, Occupy, Indignados). The essay points to a bias in the post-Operaist project – its focus on particular geographical and socio-cultural areas – that ignores the different social and political situations of some peripheral countries, especially those of Central-Eastern Europe.

The text deals with various manners of institutionalization in the field of "independent culture". Referring to research undertaken both in Poland and abroad, the author criticizes the NGO model, indicating the commercialization and governamentalization of the third sector. As a result, NGO cultural institutions lose their independence, becoming just new tools for making profits or doing state politics. The professionalisation of the NGOs renders them similar to the first or second sectors and makes it impossible for them to act as incubators of social capital for which they have been praised in social theory from de Tocqueville to Putnam. The author believes these recent developments create dangers not only for independent culture itself, but for the entire society. As an academic (but also an experienced activist in the field of cultural production), the author tries to sketch a possible alternative. He puts forward a thesis that the most important thing to consider is the institutional form of cultural production. He believes reforms should be undertaken in the direction of strengthening the autonomy and self-governance of cultural institutions by their democratization. Referring to both theoretical analyses and practical examples, the author presents a model of participatory democracy as a possible solution for the commercialization and governamentalization of the third sector.

Liquid forms of celebration: Festivals and the Polish literary fieldThe text aims to analyze the position of literary festivals within the Polish literary field. The process described is dynamic in character (the position of particular festivals changes over time). The authors attempt to grasp this dynamic, including its determining factors and the transformations it introduces in the literary field. The methodological framework of the article is provided by the category of theory of fields, developed by Pierre Bourdieu. Płynne formy celebracji: Festiwale a polskie pole literackieTekst ma na celu analizę pozycji, jaką festiwale poświęcone literaturze zajmują w obrębie polskiego pola literackiego. Pole to ma charakter dynamiczny (pozycja poszczególnych festiwali zmienia się wraz z upływem czasu). Autorzy starają się uchwycić ową dynamikę, zrozumieć determinujące ją czynniki, a także związane z tym przemiany w obrębie pola literackiego. Ramę metodologiczną tekstu stanowi kategoria teorii pól wypracowana przez Pierre'a Bourdieu.

In January 2020, the Russian-language bimonthly "Russia in Global Affairs" published an article on "memory politics" and related conflicts, following a roundtable hosted by the magazine (Rossiya, 2020). To our amazement, the discussion caused a very keen reaction, especially in Europe. Our modest publication was immediately dubbed as nearly a forge of Kremlin ideas regarding "memory wars," which, of course, is flattering, but, alas, is not true. In general, the willingness to see behind everything a conspiracy of dark forces and the belief that everything happens for a reason, well-known to us from our own history, have now spectacularly become commonplace. So, since the topic triggered such a powerful response, we decided to take it further by asking members of the academic community in different countries how they assess the current state of affairs in "memory politics." They came up with a very broad range of opinions, which we gladly share with our readers.