Almost seventy years ago German philosophers Max Horkheimer and Theodor Adorno predicted the immense influence of capitalism and commercialization on media systems and media content. Today commodification and the hunger for fun, spectacle, shock and emotions have become an intrinsic part of media offer and consumption. The central place belongs to television and the transformation of the news industry into packages of high-emotional stories, very often in sequels. Spectacle, strong emotional bond and empathetic members of audience are important elements of what media expert Brian A. Monahan calls public drama - a new hybrid form of television news. The American mainstream media transformed the terrorist attack on the USA on the 11th of September 2001 into '9/11' - a series of dramatic and emotional stories which imposed certain frames of understanding of what happened - and which were built into the cultural memory. In the first few hours after the attack the core of the 9/11 narrative was born: moral shock, a strong emotional bond with the victims of the attacks, transformation of rescuers into heroes, a feeling of love and togetherness among Americans, along with worldwide compassion. Emphasis was put on emotions, fear and a sort of spectacle of crisis, with little discussion about responsibility and critical evaluation of the reasons behind the attacks. Focus on human tragedies, fear and panic are immersed in a wider story about terrorist attacks which is a big threat to America. The power of television and its pictures to form and impose frames of understanding events is huge, along with the long-term consequences this can have on the audience, but politics as well. Adapted from the source document.
Almost seventy years ago German philosophers Max Horkheimer and Theodor Adorno predicted the immense influence of capitalism and commercialization on media systems and media content. Today commodification and the hunger for fun, spectacle, shock and emotions have become an intrinsic part of media offer and consumption. The central place belongs to television and the transformation of the news industry into packages of high-emotional stories, very often in sequels. Spectacle, strong emotional bond and empathetic members of audience are important elements of what media expert Brian A. Monahan calls public drama - a new hybrid form of television news. The American mainstream media transformed the terrorist attack on the USA on the 11th of September 2001 into '9/11' - a series of dramatic and emotional stories which imposed certain frames of understanding of what happened - and which were built into the cultural memory. In the first few hours after the attack the core of the 9/11 narrative was born: moral shock, a strong emotional bond with the victims of the attacks, transformation of rescuers into heroes, a feeling of love and togetherness among Americans, along with worldwide compassion. Emphasis was put on emotions, fear and a sort of spectacle of crisis, with little discussion about responsibility and critical evaluation of the reasons behind the attacks. Focus on human tragedies, fear and panic are immersed in a wider story about terrorist attacks which is a big threat to America. The power of television and its pictures to form and impose frames of understanding events is huge, along with the long-term consequences this can have on the audience, but politics as well. Adapted from the source document.
Obrtnici su znatno doprinosili gospodarskom razvoju Bjelovara i gradova u okviru današnje malene, a nekad velike Bjelovarsko-križevačke županije. Budući da je sjedište Varaždinske vojne krajine, koja je prva započela s razvojačenjem 1871. g., bilo u Bjelovaru, to su Bjelovar i njegovi gradovi Koprivnica i Križevci, a na prijelazu stoljeća i Daruvar imali najveće koristi od privrednog razvoja. Obrtnici su pratili taj privredni razvoj od 1871. do 1941. g. svojom mnogostrukom djelatnošću. Ograničen na proizvodnju obiteljskog karaktera rad obrtnika bio je vrlo nesiguran i kratak i bez udruživanja ne bi se mogao ni održati jer se od doba Khuena Héderváryja obrtu posvećivala malo pažnje u korist industrije i trgovaca. Obrtnici su poslovali po istom – hrvatskim obrtnicima nepodesnom – Obrtnom zakonu od 1884. do 1931. g., a onda su opet po Zakonu o radnjama od 1932. g. morali promijeniti čak i ime svog posla te su se zvali zanatlije i bili udruženi u Zanatskoj komori u Zagrebu i Osijeku, odnosno Zanatskoj komori Jugoslavije. Obrtnici Bjelovara i gradova Daruvar, Grubišno Polje, Garešnica i Čazma imali su sličnu povijest a otvarali su svoje radnje za potrebe lokalnih stanovnika, ali je samo grad Bjelovar imao obrtnike gotovo svih struka već 1891. g. udovoljavajući i potrebama ostalih manjih trgovišta i općina pa i pripadajućih gradova, osim Koprivnice i Križevaca, koji su bili u županiji do 1918. g., ali su se razvijali paralelno s Bjelovarom zbog svojeg položaja na pruzi. Obrtnici su naslijedili u ranom kapitalizmu cehove i preuzeli njihovu ulogu između trgovine i industrije. No u razvijenom monopolističkom kapitalizmu oni su postali višak jer se tipizirana roba proizvedena u tvornicama prodaje u velikim trgovinama te su obrtnici postali višak koji je eventualno školovao stručnu radnu snagu za trgovine i tvornice. Propast obrtnika bila je ucrtana u samu bit njihovih propisa i ovisna o uredbama koje je donosio režim. ; In the past, craftspeople contributed to a great extent to the economic development of Bjelovar and the towns in the today small, but once rather large county, which included wider areas of Bjelovar and Križevci. Since Bjelovar was the centre of the Varaždin Military Border, which first started with the demilitarisation in 1871, Bjelovar and its accompanying towns of Koprivnica and Križevci, as well as Daruvar at the turn of the century, benefited the most from economic development. Craftspeople were through their multifold activities a part of this development in the period 1871–1941. Limited to family business, livelihood from crafts was very insecure and of brief duration. Without joining in an association, they could not have survived at all, since as of the rule of Khuen Héderváry, the attitude towards craftpeople was rather inferior in comparison with industry and tradespeople. In the period 1884–1931, Croatian craftspeople had to operate pursuant to the Crafts Act, which was infavourable to them. Subsequently, as of 1932, pursuant to the Trades Act of that year, they even had to change the name of their profession to tradespeople. They were joined within the Chamber of Trades in Zagreb and Osijek, or rather within Yugoslav Chamber of Trades. Though craftspeople from Bjelovar, Daruvar, Grubišno Polje, Garešnica and Čazma shared a similar history and opened their shops to meet the needs of the local population, it was only the town of Bjelovar that as early as in 1891 had craftspeople of nearly all professions. It thereby met the needs of other smaller fair centres, municipalities, and towns as well, except for Koprivnica and Križevci, which were included in the county until 1918, but developed parallel with Bjelovar thanks to their position on the railway line. In early capitalism, craftspeople succeeded the guilds and took over their role in between trade and industry. However, in developed monopolistic capitalism, they became a surplus, as standardised goods produced in factories were sold by wholesale. Craftspeople thus became a surplus that only educated workpower for shops and factories. The ruin of craftspeople had been cut to the very core of the regulations and dependent on executive orders of the regime.
U ovome ću diplomskome radu usmjeriti pozornost na načine na koje je, iz očišta različitih likova u romanu "Umjetne suze" Milka Valenta, prikazana Europa – kao ideja i fenomen u današnjoj epohi banalnosti. Cilj je ovoga rada pokazati da gospodarski rast nije uvjet za demokratsku jednakost nego je jednakost pred zakonom naslijeđe i temelj demokracije koja je, kako je pokazala Martha Nussbaum, utemeljena u obrazovanju za kritičko mišljenje i suosjećanje koje nude humanističke znanosti. Milko Valent poetikom psihotičnog realizma stvara bolesnički karton Europe koja se raspada zbog "metastaza neoliberalnog kapitalizma" uzrokovanih različitim institucijama koje promiču mit o europskoj demokraciji. Dok je nekada Grčka bila "kolijevka zapadne civilizacije", danas je Europska unija sinonim za demokraciju i društvo visoke kulture (Luketić) u kojoj su prisutni fenomeni banalnosti, rasizma, bijega od multikulturalizma, apatije, lažnih medija i drugi, što je u "Umjetnim suzama" problematizirano na više narativnih razina. Europljani su stvaraoci iluzije političkog ideala koju Valent demistificira svojim tekstom u kojem istovremeno opisuje kako izgleda stvarnost i proizvodi tu istu stvarnost. ; In this graduation thesis I will aim my attention to the ways in which Europe is portrayed in the novel ''Artificial Tears'' by Milko Valent. Europe, as an idea and a phenomenon in the today's era of banality, will be analysed from the perspectives of various characters from the novel. The aim of this thesis is to show that economic growth does not imply democratic equality; moreover, equality before the law is the legacy and foundation of democracy which is, according to Martha Nussbaum, grounded in cultivating critical thinking and empathy provided by humanities. Using the poetics of psychotic realism, Milko Valent creates a medical record of Europe which is crumbling due to ''the metastases of neoliberal capitalism'' caused by various institutions that promote the myth of European democracy. While Greece used to be ''the cradle of ...
U svom djelu Zatvorena trgovačka država iz 1800. godine, njemački filozof Johann Gottlieb Fichte zagovara ekonomsku autarkiju kao radikalan oblik protekcionizma, dok 1840. njemačko-američki ekonomist Friedrich List izdaje »bibliju protekcionizma«, djelo Nacionalni sustav političke ekonomije u kojem se suprotstavlja učenju Adama Smitha o važnosti slobodne trgovine i međunarodne razmjene. Pitanje otvorene ili zatvorene privrede iznimno je aktualno s obzirom na to da su globalizacijski procesi rezultirali rastućim nejednakostima i drugim anomalijama te se, kao reakcija, ponovno javljaju, ako su ikad i nestale, snažne protekcionističke prakse. U radu će se pokušati odgovoriti na pitanje je li globalni kapitalizam nužno suprotstavljen ekonomskom nacionalizmu te koju poziciju u toj opreci danas zauzimaju lijeve i desne političke opcije. Naime, umjesto lijeva ili desna, sve češće može se čuti da je neka stranka sistemska ili prosvjedna, pri čemu se tzv. sistemskima predbacuje da žele zadržati status quo u provođenju neoliberalne agende, dok prosvjedne često klize u populizme i nacionalizme. ; Johann Gottlieb Fichte in his work The Closed Commercial State (1800) argued for economic autarky as the next reform of protectionism. German-American economist Friedrich List published The National System of Political Economy (1840) which is considered to be the "Bible of protectionism". List was the opponent of Adam Smith's theses on the importance of free trade and international market. The advocate in a shift from open to closed economy is actual in the globalized world, which is determined by growing inequality and other social and political anomalies. Protectionism is imposed as a possible response to the discontents of globalization. The paper attempts to answer if there is a link between global capitalism and economic nationalism, and how are left and right political parties related to that possible link. Recently, in the days of political dissatisfaction, the alternative between left and right positions is replaced by the opposition between system and anti-system or protest parties. While system parties are criticized for keeping a status quo of neoliberal agenda, protest parties slide into nationalism and populism.
Iznosi se izbor ključnih aspekata načina na koje su se otuđenje čovjeka i ljudska sloboda zamišljali i doživljavali u kontekstu reformacije i Oktobarske revolucije. Nastoji se odgovoriti na sljedeće pitanje: Je li točno da se negativna antropologija reformatora paradoksalno povezivala sa širenjem pojedinačne i društvene slobode, dok se pozitivna antropologija sovjetskih revolucionara povezivala sa smanjivanjem tih sloboda? S jedne strane, danas se prihvaća da je reformacija pomogla poticanju i učvršćivanju poimanja političke i osobne slobode u Europi, no ne bez proturječja i nauštrb stvaranja uske veze između nastajućih političkih i ekonomskih sila koje su se počele uspostavljati u novome svjetskom poretku naziva »kapitalizam«. S druge strane, Oktobarska revolucija, koja je sebe razumijevala kao onu koja u praksu dovodi Marxove ideje i otvara vrata povijesti novome dobu slobode i napretka, pomogla je formirati režim kojim upravlja profesionalna birokracija koncentrirajući u svojim rukama svu ekonomsku i političku moć te pokrećući slijepi mehanizam ugnjetavanja pojedinca i zajednice. Ipak, Oktobarska je revolucija imala i jedan neočekivani ishod: širenje kršćanskoga vjerovanja o pobožanstvenjenju na Zapadu. ; In this paper are briefly presented some key aspects of how human alienation and human freedom were conceived and experienced in the context of Reformation and October Revolution. An attempt is made to answer the following question: Is it true that the negative anthropology of the Reformers was paradoxically associated with an expansion of individual and social freedom, while the positive anthropology of the Soviet revolutionaries was associated with a reduction thereof? It is accepted today that the Reform helped to foster and to consolidate the notion of political and personal freedom in Europe, but not without contradictions and at the expense of forming a close alliance with the emerging political and economic powers that were beginning to establish the new world order known as "capitalism". Moreover, the October Revolution, that understood itself as bringing into practice Marx's ideas and opening the door of history to a new Era of freedom and prosperity, helped to form a regime ruled by a professional bureaucracy concentrating in its hands all economic and political power and setting into motion a blind mechanism of oppression of the individual and the community. Nevertheless, the October Revolution had one unexpected aftermath: The Western expansion of the Christian belief on theosis (divinization).
U prvom dijelu članka prikazuju se pogledi na amatersko i pučko kazalište izneseni u knjigama Lj. Marakovića (Pučka pozornica, 1929.) te A. Freudenreicha (Gluma, 1934. i Kazalište za narod, 1940.). Ističe se Marakovićevo ustrajavanje na razdvajanju amaterskoga od profesionalnog kazališta, a Freudenreichovo na njihovu nadopunjavanju, kao i stav obojice da je etička (u Marakovića i vjerska) sastavnica pučkog kazališta važnija od estetičke. U drugom dijelu analiziraju se dva pučka igrokaza N. Škrabe, Za kunu nade i Isus u snack-baru, u kojima autor problematizira ugroženost pojedinca i zajednice, napose obitelji, u tranzicijskom razdoblju te na tragu Marakovićeva i Freudenreichova viđenja pučkoga kazališta poziva na povratak tradicionalnim vrijednostima, prije svega na odbacivanje i socijalističkoga i liberalno kapitalističkoga materijalizma, a obnovu zajedništva, solidarnosti i vjere. ; The first section of this essay deals with ideas of popular theatre and/or theatre for the people as conceived by two Croatian authors, theatre and literary critic Ljubomir Maraković, in the book Pučka pozornica (People's Stage, 1929), and architect and theatre director Aleksandar Freudenreich, in books Gluma (Acting, 1934) and Kazalište za narod (Theatre for the People, 1940). While Maraković insists on differences between nonprofessional and professional theatre, and on »believing people«, mostly rural, as the target audience of nonprofessional theatre, Freudenreich argues in favour of cooperation between nonprofessional and professional theatre, and lower, both rural and urban, classes as targeted audience for united »theatre for the people«. Ethical component of that sort of theatre is for Maraković, as well as for Freudenreich, fare more important than aesthetical one. The second section is focused two representative theatre pieces by playwright and theatre director Nino Škrabe (Jastrebarsko, 1947): melodrama Za kunu nade (Hope for a Penny) and Christmas play Isus u snack-baru (Jesus in a Snack-bar). In both plays Škrabe problematizes destruction of traditional values in Croatia in the time of, as he puts it, »deceptive and shameful transition« and »wild, vulgar capitalism«. His focus is on negative effects of economic and political changes on traditional lower-class family, and on love, faith and solidarity as the only way of resistance and preservation of the traditional human values.
U članku »The 'Bubbling Up' of Subterranean Politics in Europe«, objavljenom 2013. u časopisu Journal of Civil Society, Mary Kaldor i Sabine Selchow pokušale su otkriti specifične značajke pobuna koje su se javila nakon 2010. godine u europskim zemljama poput Njemačke, Španjolske, Italije, Engleske itd. Prema autoricama, način organiziranja koji čini glavno tijelo ovih emancipatornih pokreta preuzima svoju osnovnu logiku iz svijeta Interneta. Analogija s Internetom zahtijeva ponovnu evaluaciju negativnih komentara o tehnici iz filozofske perspektive. Martin Heidegger i Herbert Marcuse najutjecajniji su filozofi 20. stoljeća koji su se bavili negativnim aspektima tehnike. Heidegger je prikazao destruktivne učinke znanstvene racionalnosti i tehnike na zapadnu kulturu kroz kritiku tradicionalne zapadne metafizike na fenomenološ- ko-ontološkoj razini, dok je Marcuse, kao predstavnik zapadnoga marksizma, oblikovao svoju kritiku tehnike u kontekstu pojma instrumentalne racionalnosti te kritike razvijenog industrijskog društva i kapitalizma. Iako su polazišne točke njihovih pogleda na tehniku, kao i osnovne svrhe kritike tehnike, različite, može se reći da obojica imaju poprilično negativno i gotovo u potpunosti pesimističko shvaćanje tehnologije. U tom će se kontekstu razmotriti Heideggerova i Marcuseova kritika tehnike kao i razlike i sličnosti između tih dvaju pristupa. Zaključno će rad naglasiti mogućnost pozitivne uloge tehnike, koja može služiti kao alternativa negativnoj perspektivi osvjetljavajući odnos između nedavnih pobuna i interneta. ; In the paper "The 'Bubbling Up' of Subterranean Politics in Europe", which was published in 2013 in the Journal of Civil Society, mary Kaldor and Sabine Selchow attempted to reveal the specific qualities of the uprisings which emerged after the year 2010 in some European countries, such as Germany, Spain, Italy, England etc. According to the authors, the mode of organization which forms the main body of these emancipatory movements obtains its basic logic from the world of the Internet. The use of the Internet requires a re-evaluation of negative philosophical commentary regarding technology. In the context of the twentieth century philosophy, martin Heidegger and Herbert marcuse are the most influential philosophers who studied on the negative aspects of technology. Heidegger portrayed the destructive effects of scientific reasoning and technology on the Western culture through the criticism of the traditional Western metaphysics on a phenomenological-ontological level. marcuse, belonging to the tradition of Western marxism, formed his critique of technology in the context of the concept of instrumental rationality and the critique of advanced industrial society and capitalism. Although the starting points of their perspectives on technology and the underlying purposes of their critiques of technology were different, it may be asserted that both have a rather negative and almost entirely pessimistic disposition towards technology. Heidegger's and marcuse's criticisms of technology will be discussed in this context and the differences and similarities between these criticisms will be shown. Finally, the paper will emphasise the question of the possibility of a positive role of technology. Technology can serve as an alternative to negative uses by shedding light on the relation between the current uprisings and the Internet. ; Dans l'article « The "Bubbling Up" of Suberranean Politics in Europe » publié en 2013 dans Journal of Civil Society, mary Kaldor et Sabine Selchow tentent de mettre en lumière les caractéristiques spécifiques des révoltes qui ont fait jour après 2010 dans certains pays européens – Allemagne, Espagne, Italie, Angleterre, etc. Selon nos auteures, le mode d'organisation qui a formé le corps essentiel de ces mouvements émancipatoires tire sa logique de base du monde de l'internet. Cette analogie avec l'internet requiert une réévaluation, à partir d'un point de vue philosophique, des commentaires négatifs sur la technologie. martin Heidegger et Herbert marcuse sont les philosophes les plus influents ayant travaillé sur les aspects négatifs de la technologie au sein de la philosophie du XXe siècle. Heidegger a dépeint les effets destructeurs de la raison scientifique et de la technologie de notre culture occidentale à travers son criticisme de la métaphysique traditionnelle occidentale à un niveau phénoménologico-ontologique, tandis que marcuse, membre du « communisme occidentale », a formé une critique de la technologie au sein du concept de rationalité instrumentale et une critique de la société industrielle avancée et du capitalisme. Bien que le point de départ de leur perspective sur la technologie et que le but sous-jacent de leur critique diffèrent, il est possible d'affirmer que leur point commun est d'avoir posé un regard négatif et presque entièrement pessimiste sur la technologie. À cet égard, le criticisme d'Heidegger et de marcuse vont être abordés afin d'en soulever les diffé- rences et les similarités. Enfin, cet article mettra l'accent sur la possibilité d'un rôle positif de la technologie qui pourrait servir d'alternative aux perspectives négatives en faisant la lumière sur le lien entre les révoltes actuelles et l'internet. ; In dem Artikel "The 'Bubbling Up' of Subterranean Politics in Europe", veröffentlicht im Jahre 2013 im Journal of Civil Society, versuchten mary Kaldor und Sabine Selchow die spezifischen Qualitäten der Aufstände zum Ausdruck zu bringen, die nach 2010 in den europäischen Ländern ausbrachen – Deutschland, Spanien, Italien, England usw. Nach Ansicht der Autoren erhält der modus der Organisation, der den Hauptkörper dieser emanzipatorischen Bewegungen bildet, seine grundlegende Logik aus der Welt des Internets. Die Analogie mit dem Internet erfordert eine Neubewertung der negativen Kommentare über die Technologie aus philosophischer Perspektive. martin Heidegger und Herbert marcuse sind die einflussreichsten Philosophen, die sich mit den negativen Aspekten der Technologie in der Philosophie des 20. Jahrhunderts befasst haben. Heidegger schilderte die zerstörerischen Auswirkungen der wissenschaftlichen Vernunft und Technologie auf die westliche Kultur durch die Kritik an der traditionellen abendländischen metaphysik auf der phänomenologisch-ontologischen Ebene, während marcuse, ein mitglied des westlichen marxismus, seine Kritik an der Technologie im Rahmen des Konzepts der instrumentellen Rationalität und der Kritik der fortgeschrittenen Industriegesellschaft und Kapitalismus geformt hat. Obgleich die Ansatzpunkte ihrer Perspektiven über die Technologie und die zugrunde liegenden Zwecke ihrer Kritik an der Technologie unterschiedlich waren, kann behauptet werden, dass beide eine eher negative und fast völlig pessimistische Einstellung zur Technologie hatten. In diesem Zusammenhang werden Heideggers und marcuses Kritiken an der Technologie diskutiert sowie Unterschiede und Ähnlichkeiten zwischen den beiden Kritiken aufgezeigt. Abschließend unterstreicht das Paper die Frage nach der möglichkeit einer positiven Rolle für die Technologie, die als Alternative zur negativen Perspektive dienen kann, indem sie Licht in das Verhältnis zwischen aktuellen Aufständen und Internet bringt.
The author analyzes recent Habermas' writings on the process of European integration & the new international political order. Having for a long time ignored the issues of foreign policy, in his recent works & speeches Habermas has increasingly turned to these topics. The supranational level is becoming important both due to the more severe limitations to state sovereignty in the process of globalization, & because of the development of new mechanisms of international cooperation & the new regional economic-political integrations. In his theory of democracy at the national level, he emphasizes its deliberative character & shows public communication as the central sphere of mediation between the informal (private) opinions & the institutions of the formation of political will. However, today it is necessary to go beyond the boundaries of the nation-state & establish the parallel mechanisms of political deliberation & decision-making at the international level. The most important step in that direction are regional integrations (in Europe, naturally, it is the European Union). The regional integrations must supplement the UN institutions to compensate for the loss of the ability to govern at the national level & to create a counterbalance to global capitalism. In this context it is important to get the answers to a certain crisis of the EU identity. The European Union today is often seen as a mechanism of bureaucratic management & restrictive regulation, instead of as a guarantor of good life. Habermas thinks that Europe should focus on the guarantees of fundamental rights & values such as the right to education, social justice, autonomy & participation. For that purpose, the European Union should develop into a federal state. To the Euro-skeptical objection that Europe lacks a state-building nation i.e a unified nation as the foundation of political community, Habermas responds that the European civil sodety, European public & the common political culture -- if, indeed, they can be built -- are sufficient for Europe's political unity. The process of designing & adopting the European Constitution has strengthened all three components. The Constitution also helps to explain the objectives of the European integration (boundaries of EU's expansion, interrelationship among levels of goverment) & to enhance legitimacy by creating a fundamental legal act, its the design of which European citizens are involved. For Habermas, the crisis of European unity caused by the disunity of the member-countries' governments over the American war in Iraq is an opportunity. The mobilization of the European civil society against that war (as demonstrated by the pan-European peace demonstrations of 15 February 2003) & the creation of the model of the procedurally well-ordered international politics & cooperation which boosts economic development & social security serve as the counterbalance to the American unilateralism & the aspiration for domination. Habermas supports the model of "multispeed Europe" & thinks that it will not cause a rift in the EU, but can as a matter of fact dynamize the process of European integration. The author concludes that Habermas' political views of the European integration & international politics contain a remarkable dose of utopism. However, the attempt to see beyond the limitations of the existing political reality is a must if these limitations are to be overcome. 12 References. Adapted from the source document.
The author analyzes recent Habermas' writings on the process of European integration & the new international political order. Having for a long time ignored the issues of foreign policy, in his recent works & speeches Habermas has increasingly turned to these topics. The supranational level is becoming important both due to the more severe limitations to state sovereignty in the process of globalization, & because of the development of new mechanisms of international cooperation & the new regional economic-political integrations. In his theory of democracy at the national level, he emphasizes its deliberative character & shows public communication as the central sphere of mediation between the informal (private) opinions & the institutions of the formation of political will. However, today it is necessary to go beyond the boundaries of the nation-state & establish the parallel mechanisms of political deliberation & decision-making at the international level. The most important step in that direction are regional integrations (in Europe, naturally, it is the European Union). The regional integrations must supplement the UN institutions to compensate for the loss of the ability to govern at the national level & to create a counterbalance to global capitalism. In this context it is important to get the answers to a certain crisis of the EU identity. The European Union today is often seen as a mechanism of bureaucratic management & restrictive regulation, instead of as a guarantor of good life. Habermas thinks that Europe should focus on the guarantees of fundamental rights & values such as the right to education, social justice, autonomy & participation. For that purpose, the European Union should develop into a federal state. To the Euro-skeptical objection that Europe lacks a state-building nation i.e a unified nation as the foundation of political community, Habermas responds that the European civil sodety, European public & the common political culture -- if, indeed, they can be built -- are sufficient for Europe's political unity. The process of designing & adopting the European Constitution has strengthened all three components. The Constitution also helps to explain the objectives of the European integration (boundaries of EU's expansion, interrelationship among levels of goverment) & to enhance legitimacy by creating a fundamental legal act, its the design of which European citizens are involved. For Habermas, the crisis of European unity caused by the disunity of the member-countries' governments over the American war in Iraq is an opportunity. The mobilization of the European civil society against that war (as demonstrated by the pan-European peace demonstrations of 15 February 2003) & the creation of the model of the procedurally well-ordered international politics & cooperation which boosts economic development & social security serve as the counterbalance to the American unilateralism & the aspiration for domination. Habermas supports the model of "multispeed Europe" & thinks that it will not cause a rift in the EU, but can as a matter of fact dynamize the process of European integration. The author concludes that Habermas' political views of the European integration & international politics contain a remarkable dose of utopism. However, the attempt to see beyond the limitations of the existing political reality is a must if these limitations are to be overcome. 12 References. Adapted from the source document.
Considering the System theory the author conceives the Yugoslav enterprise to be an open system. Moreover critically taking into consideration all the various definitions for the purpose of operationalization he defines the environment as a communicative influential domain, integrating in this way the theory of the environment and of the organization. Accepting the phenomenological hypothesis and considering the actual influence as equaling the perceptional one — the influence has been investigated, with a help of some innovations, by means of the graph of control on the top management in 55 industrial organizations. The difference between the external and internal, passive and active influences has been distinguished. Internal influence is the one within and the external is the one outside the relevant enterprise; passive is the one to which the respondent is subjected by other members of the organization and active is the one which is exercised by the respondent on other members of the organization. According to the indexes got in this way the enterprises seem to be influenced by the examined factors of the environment to a larger extant than vice versa. The grouping of the bodies of the environment has shown the dominant status of the bank and the trade organizations in their relation to the industrial enterprises. Still that environment is not very much like the system that was typical of eighteenth century liberal capitalism although it might appear so. Considering the system of the country itself we seem to be speaking of the seemingly liberal environment with the state itself appearing indirectly through the banks. The results seem to be confirmed and even more differentiated by the factor analysis. Regarding the internal influence it should be pointed out that the influence of the top management on the organizational groups in the enterprises is almost equal to the amount of the influence exercised on the top management by the organizational groups. Generally, the internal organizational relationships of influence are more intensive and more balanced. We can assume that the social relations between the organizational groups within the enterprises are more socialized and more integrated than the relations between the enterprises and their environment. Top management in an enterprise has a marginal relation towards the political representatives, a central relation towards the professionals and self-managing bodies and a firm-hierarchical-superordination-and-superordination-relation towards managerial groups. The analysis of the correlations has shown that the active and passive external influences make up a united system of power — if viewed from the standpoint of the top management. That does not mean that the top management are exposed to the system of total control because there is also a united system of influence, which is exercised by the top management on the bodies outside the enterprise. In the same way the uncontrolled power does not appear either in the influence of the top management on the organizational groups within the enterprise. So we claim the existence of only two integrated subsystems of the active and passive influences. The increasing influence of the top management on the environment and the organizational groups leads to the reverse influence, that is, the increasing influence of the environment and organizational groups on the top management, exhibiting thus clearly the logic of the reciprocal influence. The author has found out a considerably different influence of the environment within the work organizations than he expected. He expected the influence of the administrative-political environment to lessen the internal active influence of the top management, and the influence of the business professional environment to increase the internal active and passive influences of the top management, and the influence of the trade organizations to increase the active internal influence of the top management. He has found out that the redistribution of power within the work organizations is not influenced by the administrative political environment, and that the influence of the top management within the enterprise is even diminished by the trade-organizations. Moreover, though in a system of external- -internal power-relations the self-managerial bodies and political organizations are not reduced to being merely marginal factors, the backbone of the whole system of the external-internal power-relations still makes the influence of the top management on the leading organizational groups and the influence of the business organizations on the enterprises. That means that the business circle from other enterprises exercises a considerable influence on the internal status of the top management within individual enterprises, and thus on the interactions between the other managerial groups as well. This circulus vitiosus of power is uncontrolled and spontaneous product of the division of labor at the macro-level of the whole society and also at the micro-level of the work-organizations because it makes possible an intensive reciprocal influence between the external and internal managerial groups. This proves the functional autonomization of the management which will be sustained spontaneously up the time when a functionally adequate, and not only politically adequate redistribution of managerial function will be varied out.
