Suchergebnisse

Italian sociol'ts of the late 19th cent have described the Maffia above all as a soc plague. This has limited the study of a phenomena. The Maffia is certainly related to the lingering traces of feudalism which characterize Sicily (thus explaining, for example, the recourse to extralegal violence). But its vigor in the second half of the 19th cent must be attributed principally to the alliance of the new landed bourgeoisie, enriched by the purchase of noble & Church properties, with the traditional aristocracy. The Maffia, recruited from peasant circles, serves to defend this dominating class by retarding the formation of a middling peasantry. The exploitation by the 'mafiosi' of both the large land owners & the peasants is extremely profitable, permitting some of them to enter the ranks of the bourgeoisie. This soc role added to the control of the administration explains the strong position of the Maffia in Sicily. IPSA.

Is too often believed that Chinese Communism, because it is more open & critical than Soviet Communism, can play a determining role in the liberalizing of the oriental world. In support of this thesis the contrast is made between the developments of the 2 Communisms. These optimistic views are not devoid of oversimplification. In effect, the evolution of the Chinese Communist Party since 1920 shows that the allegiance to Stalin was never rejected, & the position taken after the 20th Congress does nothing to indicate the contrary. The reasons for such loyalty are numerous: it is a personal ideal of Mao Tse-tung (as esp demonstrated in his Regarding Contradiction), it fits in with the strongly antiliberal tradition of Confucianism, & finally, the objective conditions of the Chinese economy in its march toward socialism reinforce it. These facts constitute the logical premises of a dictatorship of the Stalinist variety & seriously limit any chances of the liberalization of the regime. Tr by J. A. Broussard from IPSA.

The reaction against the New Deal of Roosevelt & Truman, the fear of increased power of the State, the hostility toward ai planned society, the present prosperity of the US--these factors have favored the rebirth of a conservative ideology. Conservative Americans are not, however, senseless & reactionary defenders of laissez faire & of isolationism. Their pessimistic view of human nature, their distrust of abstract solutions, & their respect for past experience push them toward a decentralized & hierarchical state. Can this conservative ideology, which has had considerable success in US intellectual circles & in the Republican group around President Eisenhower, become an effective pol'al force? Circumstances are favorable for such a development, but against it are the egalitarianism & the belief in human achievement that are deeply rooted in the conscience of the American masses. Tr by J. A. Broussard from IPSA.

If the US has been behind Western European countries in the field of pol'al sci, it is probably because the American scene has been less favorable for the development of Machiavellian interpretation of pol'al phenomena. To cite a distinction drawn by Mosca, American researchers have had a better understanding of the sci of gov than of the art of gov. This inadequacy helps to explain a certain backwardness in the study of pol'al ecology: thus the Tableau Politique de la France de l'Ouest, of A. Siegfried did not receive the attention in the US that it deserved. On the other hand, a sociol of elites & of bur'cy has developed in the wake of Michels. Also the study of international relations has been a stimulus to progress recently in pol'al sociol. The autonomy of admin'tive sci is also recent. In this connection, US pol'al concepts as well as pol'al practices tend toward the exclusion of all pol'al influence & toward the study of admin as a whole which is self explanatory. It is only since the end of WWII that public administration has been studied within the vaster complex of soc & pol'al forces. Actual studies are being conducted on a large scale which includes even soc psychol & anthrop. Tr by J. A. Broussard from IPSA.