CRISIS, VALUE, SURVIVAL (Valsag, Ertek, Tuleles. Keresztvalasz Kulcsar Kalman: A modernizacio, a rendszervaltozas es a magyar valosag c. Delphi -vitainditojara)

• Authors: Varga Karoly
• Languages of publication: HU

Abstracts

EN

The Editor-in-Chief of Tarsadalomkutatas starts the debate from one of the main topics of his research oeuvre, from modernisation as a 'dress rehearsal' of the scale of pilot study for the Delphi volume of discussions under preparation and to be edited by Kalman Kulcsar and the present author. The first response to the paper is the present one, reversing the perspective of Professor Kulcsar's paper which is progressing in the history of concepts, and the author starts from the fact of the present global crisis and goes back in quest of elements that contain crisis potential right from the outset and can be grasped in the set of values of modernisation. Listing the relevant theses of several authors he presents evidence that besides the undoubtedly evolutionary achievements of modernisation some problematic factors as parasitic side-effects have been maturing in the value control of the process. Based on Hellemans he presents that in the face of the initial resistance of the institution of traditionally conservative values (such as the Roman Catholic Church) some basic values of modernisation would continue to show the direction, while he stresses of the discussion of modernisation between Daniel Bell and Habermas of the '70s that the forecast of disintegration implied in 'consume hedonism' condemned by Bell proved to be more realistic than the perspective of he 'project of modernisation' defended by Habermas. The current statements of the two authors already support this. In harmony with Bell's line Hofstede makes the fundamentally short-term orientation of the American set of values for the global crisis, contrasting it to the Chinese par excellence long-term one. Wallerstein's theory of centre and periphery also originates the present crisis from old contradictions, among others from the schizophrenic situation of the periphery which can only expect to enjoy the advantages of getting organically included in world economy only at the cost of the rapid amortisation of its human capital. The human capital model of Schulz may be linked to this, while it directs attention to the trend threatening survival in Hungary in view of domestic male mortality. It is at this point that the author paper joins the conclusions of Professor Kulcsar's opening paper namely that the modernisation of the globalised world liveable by us as well is the adaptation of the society by its own conditions, together with the continuous improvement of those conditions. Thus following the warning of Domokos Kosary we may avoid the present variant of dual mistake committed in the 20th century: namely disregarding the current space of mobility in global politics, and self-exposure to the 'favours' of great powers as well as of multinationals.

Keywords

EN

CRISIS; DELPHI-METHOD; MODERNIZATION; SURVIVAL; VALUE

Discipline

• SOCIOLOGY: SOCIOLOGY

• Publisher: Department of Economics and Law, Hungarian Academy of Sciences
• Journal: Tarsadalomkutatas (Social Science Research)
• Year: 2009
• Volume: 27
• Issue: 4
• Pages: 401-422
• Document type: ARTICLE

Contributors

author

Varga Karoly

• Karoly Varga, Szechenyi University, Gyor, Hungary

Identifiers

CEJSH db identifier

10HUAAAA078420