Teorija ekonomskog liberalizma
Review of: Mladen Puškarić “Teorija ekonomskog liberalizma”; Sveučilišna tiskara i Pravni fakultet, Zagreb., 1993., 236 p. by: Vlatko Mileta
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Review of: Mladen Puškarić “Teorija ekonomskog liberalizma”; Sveučilišna tiskara i Pravni fakultet, Zagreb., 1993., 236 p. by: Vlatko Mileta
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Contrary to the prevalent criticism of modern nation-state, the author thinks that it is an institution ethically valid in itself. A nation-state is a political entity in which the boundaries of state and nation coincide. The national identity is a source of communitarian solidarity and trust, essential for the formation of a state. The author thinks that the state, as a means of national self-determination can relinquish many of its functions and delegate them to supranational bodies, under the condition that it can regain them. Certain areas, such as social and cultural policy and certain aspects of economic policy, due to their importance for the preservation of the national identity should remain in the hands of the nation-state. In their foreign policy, states ought to respect several basic norms: renouncing the use of force or other forms of pressure, honouring agreements, solidarity in adversity and reducing the unfair distribution of resources. The author deals with the problem of multinational states and concludes that the separate national groups in principle have a right to secession and the creation of their own state.
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The author describes the communitarian critique of Rawls, mostly that by Michael Walzer in the book Spheres of Justice. The main communitarian objection to Rawls’ theory of justice is that it is objectivistic and thus a modern variant of Platonism. Contrary to this attitude, Walzer insists on the theory of justice which takes as its starting point particular values of a society or culture, and tries to formulate a critique of the American society as a community subject to “market imperialism ”. The response by Rawls and other liberals to the communitarian critique has proved that his theory is neither Platonic, transcendentally Kantian nor abstractly objectivistic. Rawls and liberals are aware that their principles of justice have come into being within a specific European tradition of democratic constitutionalism, but that those principles aspire towards achieving universality, at least in those communities that are willing to accept a democratic constitutional system.
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Review of: Herfried Münkler Gewalt und Ordnung. “Das Bild des Krieges im politischen Denken”; Fischer Wissenschaft, Frankfurt/M., 1992. by: Zvonko Posavec
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The author reinterprets the conflict between communitarians and liberals as a disagreement about the desirable scope of influence of the state in the new easteuropean democracies. Communitarianism, which emphasizes unity, is a democratic substitute for collectivism which has had a long tradition in Eastern Europe. Recent developments in Eastern Europe show that there are no preconditions for democratic communality which means that communitarian concepts contain an element of danger. The author thinks that the best alternative to the collectivist and communitarian danger in Eastern Europe is the classical utilitarian i.e. economic liberalism. Classical liberalism is the best venue for ensuring economic progress and with it, democracy.
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The author presents Petitt’s reaction to the central dichotomy that ensues from MacIntyre’s thinking about politics on the borderline between the liberal thought (as the continuation of the Enlightenment) and the communitarian thought (Aristotelianism-inspired but characteristic of the anti-enlightenment, romantic tradition). Petitt considers that dichotomy mystifying, since it conceals other interesting alternatives, such as pre-liberal, republican political thought. He tries to prove the republican tradition worthy of serious consideration and claims that it can be evolved into a truly appealing political stance. The author concisely describes liberalism and communitarianism as seen by MacIntyre and Petitt. Then he goes on to describe republicanism, as seen by Petitt. And finally, the author lists critical objections to Petitt’s description of republicanism due to which that political alternative does not seem as attractive as Petitt claims.
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Contemporary Western politologists consider opposition a civilizational achievement and a singular value of democratic pluralist systems, but have not managed to come up with an unambiguous definition of the concept of “opposition”. This paradox is a consequence of the fact that the opposition, in order to exist, must renounce radical antagonism and use of violence in promoting its interests and political goals. The existance of the opposition establishes the position (government) as a party of the totality of the system which must recognize the equality of the opposition and renounce the use of violence against the opposition. The consensus on the necessity of renouncing the use of force enables the establishment of the totality of a system in freedom. Thus, the opposition’s role is not solely to control the government and provide alternatives; by its contraposition it stabilizes and legitimizes democratic systems.
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The author analyses the traditional concepts of democratic practice of decision-making: majority and minority. Representational democracy of modern states is characterized by the relativization of majority and minority by means of losers and winners. The author claims that in representational democracy there is no automatic correspondence between the majority and the winners, and the minority and the losers. On the contrary, the most powerful are the elitist losers’ minorities, while the function of the traditional democratic majorities has been reduced to providing legitimacy to the winners’ minorities’ rule.
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The idea of the existence of the legal foundations of the opposition implies granting certain rights to opposition which finds in the parliament a privileged means of its expression and recognition. The diversified “statute of the opposition” is the basic feature of contemporary constitutional democracies, both traditional and “nouveau”. The text points to the terminological and other differences between the opposition as an institution and other forms in which parliamentary opposition finds its affirmation, as well as to the means apportioned to the opposition, both in the rule of law states and in the new democracies, including Croatia.
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The author claims that we are living in the time of formal democracy and multipartyism. He advocates a thesis that the Croatian government tolerates the opposition but at the same time deligitimizes it and renders it untrustworthy. The government does not rule by the book and has no systematic ideology. Thus three types of opposition are immanent to it: the one that leads into totalitarianism, the one that strives towards democracy and finally the one that is given to internal reforms. The key condition for the success of the move towards democracy in Croatia is in countering nationalism and in coexistence within a heterogeneous society with a functional elite and interdependence as a principle.
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Taking as his starting point the fact that without opposition there is no democracy, the author lists essential and sufficient conditions for the establishment of democracy in Croatia. Instead of the definition that democracy means decision-making by the majority, the author proposes the definition of democracy as decision-making by the majority which takes into consideration the opinion of the minority. Such a type of democracy is called “consensual” and is particularly significant in a multinational and socially polarized society. The author distinguishes three ideal types of democracy: political, social and economic. On the basis of such theoretical observations he proposes the measures for overcoming the conflicts and for increasing the efficacy of the functioning of the Croatian Parliament.
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The concept of new information technologies of modifications and processing information is taking on new proportions. The new possibilities in data processing have had far-reaching consequences. Relations in certain human activities as well as in the society on the whole have been changing. Today it would be possible to ensure such an interaction in which an individual and a group have equal opportunities to participate in all aspects of communal life. The pronounced political illusionism has created a wider gap between the real and the virtual. The information-based production requires greater interaction than in the previous, industrial era.
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Croatia is a country in which Christian (Catholic) tradition has taken deep roots. The new political structure has enabled the revival of the Catholic tradition not only at the level of human rights and freedoms but at the level of political activism as well (Christiandemocratic parties). Christian values, important for the economic, political, cultural, and moral life, which have been advocated by the Catholic Church in its social teachings, are no longer marginalized in Croatia. On the other hand, liberal values of democratic capitalism of the West have also significantly increased its sway over Croatian economy and politics. Although the recent history of the relation between liberalism and Christianity does not give evidence of their mutual respect regarding freedom and democracy (but of a critical distance, rather), the reality of democratic capitalism (USA, for example) points to the necessity of establishing new relations. Croatia is a suitable space in which the relationship between the liberal and the Catholic values may change from the critical to the constructive distance.
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The author analyses the predictions of the demise of socialism in the works o f H. Arendt, T Parsons and R. Dahrendorf He also enumerates the enduring elements on which nationalism has relied upon in modern intellectual history, defines nationalism and cautions against its dangers unless reined in by the state based on law.
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Taking as his starting point the methodological precepts of the American liberal political scientist Adam Przeworski about the importance of the action theory analysis of the transformational dynamics of postauthoritarian societies, the author looks into the prospects of liberal reforms in Eastern Europe. The central thesis of the article is that the reforms’ success depends on the balance of power between the liberal and the national-populist elites, who vie for public support. The outcome of that struggle will depend on the way in which the competing elites will act in response to five essential contextual factors: the need for economic and social security, the expectations of social justice, the dynamics of the integration with the West, the articulation of the national identity within a national state, and, possibly, the existence of ethnic minorities (i.e. the threat of inter-ethnic conflicts).
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In the article the author raises the issues of theoretical and methodological aspects of research studies on hybrid regimes being a combination of democracy and authoritarianism. The aim of the research was to present and develop a typology of hybrid regimes. The implementation consisted of two stages. At the first stage the operationalisation of category of typology was developed and the structure schema of its construction was planned. At the second stage the planned structure schema of typology construction was applied in the creation to typology of hybrid regimes.
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The article analyzes the newest formats of socio-political protests. The postmodern forms of political activity are examined on the example of events in Ukraine since the beginning of the Revolution of Dignity. The creativity of the newest non-violent forms of protests (performances, flash mobs, installations, etc.), which were carried out in the revolutionary period and during the subsequent occupation of the part of the territory of Ukraine was proven. It is substantiated that political action in the postmodern reality is provocative and is based on game, ritual and symbolism. The perception of political events through the prism of spectacularity is emphasized.
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Review of: Davor Rodin "Prijepis politike" (Transcription of Politics); Školska knjiga Zagreb, 1995, 364 pages by: Zvonko Posavec
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Review of: Vladimir Vujčić "Politička tolerancija" (Political Tolerance); Defimi, Zagreb 1995, 186 pages by: Vlatko Cvrtila
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Review of: Ivan Grdešić "Političko odlučivanje" (Political Decision-Making); AJinea, Zagreb, 1995, 137 pages by: Zdravko Petak
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