Apparently transition is a difficult process. The reform programme adopted in Russia and several other former socialist countries was based on a purely economic approach, neglecting socio-cultural and political conditions for successful transition. These conditions are still largely determined by the socialist project that preceded the current transition process. Hence any study of transition has to start exploring the question: Transition from what? What, exactly, is wrong with socialism?
An important indicator of modernization is to what extent the social subsystem of science is autonomous. The role played by experts in the preparatlon of decision making was assumed that the semi-peripheric situation, the state-socialist political and economical systems and the relevant patterns for modernization had an impact on scientific cognition and its utilization in experts, systems, too.
With references to statements made by various political figures the author comes to the conclusion that the general view is that Socialism and Capitalism are regarded as alternative developments for South Africa. It would seem then as if Christians at most have the choice of opting for an alliance between Christendom and Socialism. The paper will attempt to critically evaluate the attempt to effect an alliance of this kind. The first part of the paper deals with the possibility of the golden mean of African Socialism, and the author points out tension present in the philosophy of Hirmer in this context, for example. The second part of the paper deals with contributions from the reformational approach in science and scholarship towards an alternative to Socialism and Capitalism.
A substantial portion of corporate shareholdings in the United States is held by pension funds that secure retirement benefits for broad segments of the workforce. A number of commentators have argued that the assets secured by these pension funds should be used to promote the creation of a more democratic and egalitarian economy. Specifically, pension assets could be invested in projects that are deemed socially worthwhile, wielded in strategic "corporate campaigns" against companies resisting unionization, or directed toward allowing workers to obtain control over their own companies. This program of employing pension assets in the pursuit of a more democratic economy – referred to by the author as "pension fund socialism " – is hindered by a number of obstacles arising both from within the structure of pension funds and from the larger legal, economic and political landscape. For instance, there are legitimate reasons to limit the risk pension funds carry, thus narrowing the range of investment opportunities open to the funds. Also restricting the potential of pension fund socialism are the conflicting interests among different sectors of the workforce, such as those existing between current employees and retirees. The author's thesis is that the prospects of pension fund socialism are substantial but not as bright as many proponents have suggested.
Članak predstavlja prvi deo rada koji se bavi odnosom jugoslovenske sociologije prema socijalizmu u periodu između 1945. i 1990. godine. Stav jugoslovenske sociologije prema socijalizmu prvenstveno je bio uslovljen promenama koje su se zbivale u vladajućoj kolektivno-vlasničkoj klasi i njenoj političkoj organizaciji - SKJ. U ovom delu se razmatra odnos istorijskog materijalizma prema socijalizmu, zatim, Đilasova kritika socijalističkog društva i shvatanje prvih poratnih jugoslovenskih sociologa o društvenoj strukturi socijalizma. ; This article represents the first part of a work dealing whit the relationship between Yugoslav sociology and socialism in the period 1945. to 1990. Tle relationship between Yugoslav socilogy and socialism was on the first place determined by the changes happening too the ruling colective-owner class and its political organization - Communist Party. This article deals whit the relationship between historical materialism and socialism, and, Djilas's critics of socialist society and the ideas of first Yugoslav.
O texto constitui-se numa reflexão sobre as atitudes dos diversos governos pósindependência e dos principais textos legais relativos ao debate ideológico em torno das perspectivas capitalistas e socialistas que emergem da prática política com ênfase na Constituição da Nigéria de 1979 e do desempenho dos governos militares. ; The text constitutes a reflection about the attitudes of different governments postindependence and of the principal legal texts related to an ideological debate in relation to the capitalistic or socialistic perspectives that emerge from political practice with emphasis on the 1979 Nigerian Constitution and the performance of military governments.
Claims made about economic theory are always embedded in some political context. Members of socialist parties are involved in a fundamental reappraisal of socialism itself. Many have already concluded that socialism is to be written off. Others reject this by pointing out that although 'Marxism-Leninism' and 'Social Democracy' have undoubtedly failed, socialism has never been tried. But this is far too complacent. Socialism as an ideal can hardly be abstracted from every attempt that was ever made to implement it. If we automatically absolve the socialist ideal from any responsibility for its deformations in practice, we will never even pose the question of whether there is a necessary link between socialism and economic failure and depotism. No socialist is ever again entitled to ask for a 'leap of faith' .
Mozambique's achievement of independence, under the leadership of the front for the Liberation of Mozambique (Frelimo), on 25 June 1975, was a pivotal moment in the country's history. After what is often implicitly regarded as a revolution against the Portuguese colonial government, Felimo's project of 'scientific socialism' and 'popular democracy' was welcomed and celebrated in the writings of many left-wing observers in the West. However, this study will challenge the key assumption of much of the historiography of Mozambique: that the change in government marked the beginning of Mozambique's transformation into a socialist state. It will be argued here that despite a long struggle against a repressive regime, there was no revolution in Mozambique. Furthermore, while Frelimo had initially aligned itself with socialist ideals, the pursuit of socialism had all but ended when Frelimo declared itself to be a 'Marxist-Leninist Vanguard Party' at the time of its Third Congress in 1977. Frelimo's political vision had been tempered by the realities of the country's material conditions of underdevelopment and an unorganised, politically unenthusiastic worker population: the by products of Portuguese colonialism.
Članak predstavlja drugi deo rada koji se bavi odnosom sociologije prema socijalizmu u periodu između 1945. i 1990. godine. Osnovna teza rada je da je stav jugoslovenske sociologije prema socijalizmu bio uslovljen promenama koje su se zbivale u vladajućoj kolektivno- vlasničkoj klasi i njenoj političkoj organizaciji - SKJ. U ovom delu se razmatra odnos jugoslovenske sociologije prema socijalizmu u periodu od 1967. do raspada zemlje 1990. godine. ; This article is second part of work dealing with relationship between sociology and socialism (between 1945 - 1990). Basic thesis is that . Yugoslav sociology to socialism had depended change in collective-ownership class and her political organization - CKY. In this part is observed relationship Yugoslav sociology to socialism in time from 1967 to 1990.
The central question guiding this essay is: what does Marx's socialism owe to classical antiquity? Underlying this question is the thesis that Marx's studies of classical Greece supply the angle of vision necessary to bring to light the hallmark of his conception of the socialist polity. The argument challenges a widespread interpretation of the connection between antiquity and socialism in Marx's work—that his socialist vision takes its bearings from the Aristotelian understanding of the relationship between necessity and leisure. In Marx's view, the fundamental legacy of antiquity was the notion of freedom as masterlessness. The roots of this legacy are in the political experience of the democratic polis, not in Aristotle's reflections on the ideal household. The core of Marx's project, then, is not to open a realm of freedom beyond necessity, but rather to create spaces for democratic action within the realm of necessity itself, to ensure that work is free and compatible with leisured activities.
Der Autor weist zunächst auf die Bedeutung einer Geschichte des Umweltschutzes bzw. einer Geschichte der Ökologie-Bewegung hin. Sodann wird das gegensätzliche Bild des Naturschutzes während des Nationalsozialismus herausgearbeitet. Dieses wird in der Funktionalisierung der (romantisch) anti modernistischen Haltung des Bürgertums zu Zwecken einer ökonomisch orientierten Wachstumspolitik gesehen. Der Autor wirft sodann einen Blick auf den Beginn des Naturschutzes und des Heimatschutzes während der Jahrhundertwende. Im weiteren wird die Ideologie des Naturschutzes und der Naturschutzpolitik während des Nationalsozialismus näher untersucht. Abschließend werden die (negativen) Folgen der nationalsozialistischen Natur-Ideologie für die heutige Ökologiedebatte diskutiert. ; The discipline of Environmental History research should include studies which examine the acknowledgement, evaluation and resolution of environmental crises of ecological movements. There are just some few authors who have explored ecological movements under the era of National Socialism. Protection of nature is one of those movements which, even before 1933, presented a contradictory, ambivalent image: One the one hand, the protectors of nature had been deeply influenced by contemporary cultural criticism and by the distinctive German-nation consciousness integral to large parts of the educated middle-classes since the Wilhelminian era. On the other hand, however, rearmament and war preparations demanded a partial autarchy of the Reich with regard to the provision of food; consequently the struggle to raise the level of food production and the Four-Year Plan demanded the conversion of ecologically valuable natural and cultural land into cleared farming and grazing areas. Nature protectors were forced to collaborate in bringing forward this development, as their concept of nature protection demanded a cooperation with the government as the only possible alternative, regardless what direction it would take them. Besides, they were unable to argue, and more so to recognize the fundamental conflict between economy and ecology. Even in the time after 1945, and scarcely nowadays is the past of the nature protection movement adequately investigated. Reasons form this situation may be found in the training of the protectors in the natural sciences, who had begun to recognize the social dimensions of their work and to develop a democratic conception of protection. The propagation of an 'ecological ethic' and the rejection of an anthropocentric notion of nature protection have the same roots, and give evidence of an ahistorical way of seeing what hinders rather than furthers the cause of protection.
One of the outstanding aims of most liberation movements has been to increase the economic well-being of their people, Guinea-Bissau being no exception in this respect. How far has the new Nation State succeeded in fulfilling this aim? A comparative analysis of the implementation of land reclamation projects during colonial and post-colonial times reveals astonishing similarities: especially the centralization of development efforts in the hands of administrators disconnected from the grassroots, lack of target group analysis and misconceptions about the aims and needs, as well as the resources, of the population involved in the development efforts, on the part of the administration. The effects of this negative conditioning process of 'development' over many years on the chances of cooperation between peasants and the administration are still largely unknown. Any development planner who wants to encourage the local population to take their future into their own hands, would have to take account of this negative conditioning process. ; Author's version ; Socialisme sans libération: Projets de réhabilitation des terres en Guinée-Bissau: Un des objectifs exceptionnelle de la plupart des mouvements de libération a été d'accroître le bien-être économique de leur peuple. La Guinée-Bissau ne fait pas exception à cet égard. Dans quelle mesure le nouvel État Nation réussi à remplir cet objectif? Une analyse comparative de la mise en valeur des projets de réhabilitation des terres pendant la période coloniale et post-coloniale révèle des similitudes étonnantes: notamment la centralisation des efforts de développement dans les mains des administrateurs déconnectés de la base, le manque d'analyse du groupe cible et des idées fausses sur les objectifs et les besoins, ainsi que les ressources, de la population impliquée dans les efforts de développement, de la part de l'administration. Les effets de ce processus de conditionnement négatif du «développement» depuis de nombreuses années sur les chances de la coopération entre les paysans et l'administration sont encore largement inconnu. Tout planificateur du développement qui veut encourager la population locale à prendre leur avenir en mains propres, devra tenir compte de ce processus de conditionnement négatif.
Der Beitrag geht von der modernisierungstheoretischen Annahme aus, dass die Konzepte der funktionalen Differenzierung und der sozialen Ungleichheit die beiden grundlegenden Perspektiven darstellen, unter denen die Strukturen moderner Gesellschaften analysiert werden können. Ein Systemvergleich zeigt für die Umbruchsphase 1989-1992, dass im Falle der Gesellschaften sowjetischen Typs für beide Strukturdimensionen keine eindeutige Diskussionslage zu registrieren ist. Die vorliegende Analyse der herrschenden Eliten zeigt weiterhin, dass die Zusammenbruchsdynamik staatssozialistischer Gesellschaften herrschaftssoziologisch zwei grundlegende Wandlungsprozesse beinhaltet: Den wachsenden Verlust der Fähigkeit des Parteistaates, bei den eigenen Funktionären Legitimitätsglauben, Gehorsam und Disziplin durchsetzen zu können. Und den Niedergang der Fähigkeit der Funktionäre des Parteistaates, von den machtunterworfenen Bevölkerungen in allen Bereichen des gesellschaftlichen Lebens Motivation und Disziplin beim lange zur Phrase degenerierten 'sozialistischen Aufbau' zu verlangen. Weiterhin wird deutlich, warum die Ereignisse 1989-91 nicht das Schicksal der Ereignisse von 1953 (DDR), 1956 (Ungarn, Polen), 1968 (Tschechoslowakei) oder 1980 (Polen) teilten. Erst wenn sich die herrschenden Strukturen einer Gesellschaft in einem klaren Stadium des Niedergangs oder Zerfalls befinden, können politische Mobilisierungsprozesse wie die von 1989 in den Zusammenbruch ganzer gesellschaftlicher Systeme einmünden. ; This article draws on some central theoretical aspects of contemporary historical and sociological research on the elite structures of Sowjet type societies. Firstly, specific features of the constitution and the recruitment of political and functionary elites in the political and civil system of the collapsed state socialist societies are investigated. In this context the concept of organisations elites will be emphasized. Secondly, the problem of the relationship between differentiation processes in society and social inequality is discussed by means of focussing on the 'elite problem'. Finally, this article reconstructs in broad contours the debates concerning processes of informalization and hybridization in state socialist societies in the light of the elite aspect.
ABSTRACT & RÉSUMÉ & RESUMO & ZUSAMMENFASSUNG: One of the outstanding aims of most liberation movements has been to increase the economic well-being of their people, Guinea-Bissau being no exception in this respect. How far has the new Nation State succeeded in fulfilling this aim? A comparative analysis of the implementation of land reclamation projects during colonial and post-colonial times reveals astonishing similarities: especially the centralization of development efforts in the hands of administrators disconnected from the grassroots, lack of target group analysis and misconceptions about the aims and needs, as well as the resources, of the population involved in the development efforts, on the part of the administration. The effects of this negative conditioning process of 'development' over many years on the chances of cooperation between peasants and the administration are still largely unknown. Any development planner who wants to encourage the local population to take their future into their own hands, would have to take account of this negative conditioning process. --- RÉSUMÉ: [ Socialisme sans libération - des travaux de poldérisation des terres en Guinée-Bissau ] - Un des objectifs en circulation de la plupart des mouvements de libération a été d'accroître le bien-être économique de leur peuple, la Guinée-Bissau ne fait pas exception à cet égard. Dans quelle mesure le nouvel État Nation réussi à remplir cet objectif ? Une analyse comparative de la mise en œuvre de projets de remise en état des terres pendant la période coloniale et post-coloniale révèle des similitudes étonnantes : notamment la centralisation des efforts de développement dans les mains des administrateurs déconnectés de la base, le manque d'analyse du groupe cible et des idées fausses sur les objectifs et les besoins, ainsi que les ressources, de la population impliquée dans les efforts de développement, de la part de l'administration. Les effets de ce processus de conditionnement négatif du « développement » depuis ...
