Papers by Gyoergy L . Széll
Labour, education & society
Lang eBooks, 2006
On the Authors
De Gruyter eBooks, Dec 31, 1992
Kritische Gesellschaftsanalyse – Bildung – Soziale Arbeit, Feb 20, 2013
Participation is in the centre of the Communal Idea. From the old Greek Polis to Kibbutzim there ... more Participation is in the centre of the Communal Idea. From the old Greek Polis to Kibbutzim there are many more or less successful experiences. However, for the future of democratic participation we need today a qualitative reassessment of these experiences. The main hypothesis is that – similarly to democracy as such – participation is a permanent learning and research process. In this context the role of science and education will be assessed.
Jahrbuch Ökologie 2001, 2000
Not only the Greens, but also the environmental movement is in crisis. And not just since their p... more Not only the Greens, but also the environmental movement is in crisis. And not just since their participation in government at federal level. Not only the trade unions, but also the Greens have no new blood. Business environmental organisations such as B.A.U.M., future and Hohenlohe, which were launched with great hope over a decade ago, are also stagnating. And in the new federal states, the situation is almost even more desolate; the Greens, for example, are almost non-existent there. The problems of the day-today life are killing the future.
Osnabrücker Jahrbuch Frieden und Wissenschaft 26, 2019
The call for freedom, as defined in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR), appears to ... more The call for freedom, as defined in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR), appears to be universal.1 The rights to freedom are embedded in the UDHR, which makes direct reference to the French Declaration of Human and Civil Rights of 1789 by using the terms 'liberty', 'equality' and 'fraternity'. Article 1 of the UDHR states: "All human beings are born free and equal in dignity and rights.2 They are endowed with reason and conscience and should act towards one another in a spirit of brotherhood". The essential freedoms are therefore: Article 3 (right to life and liberty), 18 (freedom of thought, conscience, religion), 19 (freedom of expression and information), 20 (freedom of assembly and association). Rights are generally codified and therefore enforceable. They can also be formulated by social consensus, but can also be de facto curtailed or cancelled. The UDHR is a legally non-binding resolution. It was adopted by the United Nations on 10 December 1948 with 48 votes in favour, no votes against and eight abstentions. The abstentions came from the Soviet Union, Ukraine, Belarus, Poland, the ČSSR, Yugoslavia, Saudi Arabia and South Africa.3 Two Frenchmen and the Chinese philosopher Peng-chun Chang were among those significantly involved in the formulation of the UDHR.4 China: at the time, this was the Republic of China under the dictator Chiang Kai-shek; as a permanent member of the Security Council, it therefore voted in favour of this resolution.5 At that time, however, the majority of the founding members of the United Nations themselves were by no means 'democratic' as we understand it today. The following quote may apply to many other votes in favour of the UDHR: "The Iranian delegate Fereydoun Hoveyda later wrote that he had drawn his government's attention to the fact that many of the planned human rights were contrary to Iranian law. His minister replied: 'It doesn't matter. The Americans want the declaration and we need the Americans' help. Just always vote like Mrs Roosevelt. [...] The declaration is just a piece of paper anyway." 6 At that time, Shah Reza Pahlewi ruled Iran by the grace of Great Britain and the USA.
Osnabrücker Jahrbuch Frieden und Wissenschaft, 17, 2010
The year 1989 was much more than just the fall of the Wall and the end of the division of Germany... more The year 1989 was much more than just the fall of the Wall and the end of the division of Germany. It was more than just a German event-even if we have become accustomed to seeing it that way. The year was the provisional culmination of a difficult reform process, particularly in Central and Eastern Europe, which many had thought impossible in this form. The collapse of the "socialist camp" marked the beginning of a transformation of political and economic structures that was to bring drastic changes for the whole world. What impact did this have on Europe, Asia, Latin America and Africa?
Soziale Passagen, 2019
The American sociologist Neil Postman (1931-2003) was one of the most influential media critics i... more The American sociologist Neil Postman (1931-2003) was one of the most influential media critics in the second half of the 20th century. His analyses of the disappearance of childhood and the destruction of democracy and education by the new mass media have lost none of their topicality. Quite the opposite: in the age of new so-called social media, fake news, trolls, bots and the increasing algorithmisation of the modern world, critical media analysis is more necessary than ever before. Nevertheless, he remained an optimist by focussing on education and a second Enlightenment.
Osnabrücker Jahrbuch Frieden und Wissenschaft 7, 2000
In the same year that the 350th anniversary of the Peace Treaty of Westphalia was celebrated in O... more In the same year that the 350th anniversary of the Peace Treaty of Westphalia was celebrated in Osnabrück and Münster with the gathering of the largest number of heads of state on German soil in living memory, the Kosovo conflict began to escalate dramatically. Shortly before the international, interdisciplinary congress Peace – Reconstructing a European Vision took place in Osnabrück,i on 12 October 1998, the Yugoslav government agreed to the deployment of 2,000 OSCE observers in Kosovo following two previous UN Security Council resolutions, after NATO had threatened to launch air strikes as in the Bosnian conflict.ii When the Congress on Ways to Social Peace in Europe, under the patronage of Jacques Delors, also met in Osnabrück in November 1998,iii there was calm before the storm. This last of the numerous Osnabrück congresses during the Year of Peace was intended to set an example against xenophobia and racism. It was also attended by a number of Yugoslavians.
Division and Welfare. Toward a Participatory Peace-Welfare State, 2013
The history of Germany is full of contradictions. Perhaps it is together with Japan the most cont... more The history of Germany is full of contradictions. Perhaps it is together with Japan the most contradictory society in the world. It was never able to realize democracy by its own efforts. The revolution of 1848 failed as other attempts during the 19th century (France, Hungary etc.), although Germany had one of the strongest labour movements in the world. The Bismarckian Welfare State was combined with political oppression: the
carrot and the stick. The German historian Hans-Ulrich
Wehler draws back this failure of democratic culture to the early 18th century, when Prussia started its ‘Defensive modernisation’, i.e. an authoritarian modernisation top-down, which was copied by Japan in the Meiji-period and by the Asian tigers (South Korea, Taiwan, Singapore, Hong Kong) later on in the 1960s and 1970s.
Asian Journal of German and Asian Studies, 2018
Since several decades there is a critical debate, if social sciences are Euro-centric resp. Weste... more Since several decades there is a critical debate, if social sciences are Euro-centric resp. Western. For sure, modern social sciences have emerged since the Renaissance foremost in Europe. The U.S.A. have become since a century also within the social sciences a hegemon. Nevertheless, social sciences as such are not an invention of the West. All cultures had and have some kind of social theory, which was resp. is often embedded within a religious context and framed via legal regulations. Culture is about values, and all science is part of a given culture. Probably the biggest influence on modern social sciences came from the Greek philosophy, transmitted by the Romans and the Arabs. Actually Ibn Khaldun (1332-1406) can be regarded as the first social scientist, long before Machiavelli, Erasmus from Rotterdam or Hobbes, Thomas Morus et al. Humanism was the outcome. In regard to our topic Zygmunt Bauman makes a pertinent differentiation between global vs. universal. Modern globalisation is a process, which certainly dates back to early modern times, which was coined by a fundamental value change. That leads us to the question: Where do values, ethics come from? From religion, ideology, metaphysics, Enlightenment, common sense, mythology, tradition or/and science? Are there competing values? Postmodernists declare that there are no common values anymore: Everything goes! (Wittgenstein, Feyerabend, Derrida, Foucault …) But then, what about the responsibility of scientists for their writings and actions? When we discuss therefore the issue of Western versus universal structures these are always related to value systems. And we have to concede that 'universal' is an ideal, which will never be reached. Today's increasingly globalized world is dominated by the capitalist mode of production since more than 200 years, and it dominates all sciences as well. Globalisation is driven by capitalism and imperialism. Technology (namely military) allowed Western Europe to dominate nearly the whole world since, although other parts of the world were already more developed in many domains. But this is not a unilinear process, as dialectics set counterforces free.
The US aggression in Iraq in 2003 and the future of nation states* "Le nationalisme c'est la guer... more The US aggression in Iraq in 2003 and the future of nation states* "Le nationalisme c'est la guerre !"/Nationalism is war!
Sozialwissenschaftliche Literatur Rundschau, 2023
The book emerged from the Walter Benjamin Lectures-three open-air lectures in Berlin in June 2021... more The book emerged from the Walter Benjamin Lectures-three open-air lectures in Berlin in June 2021. The claim is-as the title suggests-very high. The working sovereign suggests the working people as rulers-and not everyone else? The publisher's advertising text states: "What role does the organisation of employment relationships play in securing the existence of a democratic community? This is the question that Axel Honneth explores in his major new monograph, the key concepts of which are "social labour" and "social division of labour". His central thesis is that participation in democratic decision-making is linked to the prerequisite of a transparent and fairly regulated division of labour." It is also advertised as being on the non-fiction bestseller lists of WELT, NZZ, rbbKultur and Ö1. Why is this book being pushed so much? However, the numerous reviews paint a mixed picture at best with regard to the quality and originality of the approach. There is no doubt, however, that it is highly commendable that the topic of the democratisation of work and society is once again being addressed today. The author's literacy is also impressive-albeit very selective. His horizon is limited to the last 200 years and the West-with a focus on Germany and the USA, which still seem to be the measure of all things. Bertram Gross already characterised the USA as Friendly Fascism in 1977. Yet Honneth's claim sounds universal and timeless. In my opinion, it is unforgivable not to take into account China, which will soon be the world's largest economy-even now in terms of purchasing power parity-and Japan, the third largest. Moreover, there is no empirical evidence of his own, even though he headed the Frankfurt Institute for Social Research for 17 years; after all, Honneth is a philosopher. Unfortunately, it is not clear what concept of democracy underlies his argument? A grassroots democracy? A representative or participatory one? And on which levels? Even if he means to define a broad concept of work, this remains very vague and cannot be operationalised (p. 137). The decisive difference between work and non-work, i.e. leisure/leisure, is their commodification. Reading, for example, is the same activity, but according to the monetary relationship it is sometimes work and sometimes pleasure. Cooking or gardening are different again: they can be done as paid work or for one's own reproduction. In both cases, however, it is work, as the term housework or gardening clearly defines. A normative theory of labour? Where is the norm derived from? From Rawls' theory of justice? From critical theory? From Luhmann's systems theory? Recourse to Hegel or Durkheim does not help either. After all, he-like the parts of the Frankfurt schoolultimately did not understand Marx correctly. What's more, the Frankfurt School has not addressed labour since the 1960s. This becomes clear when he opposes the concept of productive work. As is well known, Marx is not concerned with a theory of labour. As is well known, the title of his main work is 'Capital' and not 'Labour'. He also writes a theory of surplus value. The concepts of exchange value and use value only appear marginally in Honneth's work, although they are central to Marx's social theory. The concept of productive work refers to the capital relationship, i.e. what is productive is what brings profit to capital.
Sozialwissenschaftliche Literatur Rundschau, 2020
Jürgen Habermas has published his opus magnum, i.e. This Too a History of Philosophy, 2 volumes, ... more Jürgen Habermas has published his opus magnum, i.e. This Too a History of Philosophy, 2 volumes, more than 1,700 pages in 2019. He worked over ten years on it, and gave himself this book as a gift to his 90th birthday. The main thesis is that the sacred is the basis for all philosophy. The axis period created Judaism, Buddhism and Confucianism/Taoism some 2,500 years ago, which revolutionised civilisation. His approach is a methodological atheism. His history ends with Charles Sanders Peirce. There is no summary, just a post-scriptum. Definitely all those who want to learn Habermas' intellectual-moral testament is obliged to invest hard working. It is worthwhile. Habermas asks with Kierkegaard what is a not-failed life? The answer is: the life of Jürgen Habermas himself.
Osnabrücker Jahrbuch Frieden und Wissenschaft, 2020
Hate as an emotion has existed since time immemorial. It is even one of the most intense fee... more Hate as an emotion has existed since time immemorial. It is even one of the most intense feelings – together with love, the opposite of which it is considered to be. "Hatred or hate is an intense negative emotional response towards certain people, things or ideas, usually related to opposition or revulsion toward something. Hatred is often associated with intense feelings of anger, contempt, and disgust. Hatred is sometimes seen as the opposite of love.“ Therefore, like most feelings, hatred is ambivalent: hatred against fascists, oppressors, dictatorships – is morally responsible. So is there such a thing as 'healthy' hatred? iv However, hate is no more a solution to the problem than anger. The solution must ultimately be found politically. With colonialism, it was independence. In civil wars, it was often secession. Sometimes hatred of the oppressors turned into "love of country" for the new state. In other conflicts, moderation by third parties, such as the Stuttgart 21 project or the conflict in Northern Ireland is the solution. The Apartheid regime in South Africa also ended with a political solution that called for reconciliation.
Transfer, Aug 1, 2022
Everybody is talking about capitalism again. But what kind of capitalism? In addition to the many... more Everybody is talking about capitalism again. But what kind of capitalism? In addition to the many varieties of capitalism already identified, Thomas Klikauer – Senior Lecturer on Human Resource Management and Industrial Relations at the Sydney Graduate School of Management, Western Sydney University, Australia – has now produced a volume in which he argues that today’s capitalism is determined largely by the media. This is supposedly qualitatively a new form of capitalism, which is more difficult to understand and so also more difficult to fight. The notion of media capitalism he proposes makes good sense in a world that seems to be overwhelmed by constant communication via the media, and by the power associated with it. Without doubt, the media – in the age of social media – are at the centre of production relations within modern capitalism not only in economic terms – they cover about 10 per cent of the formal economy – but also in political and cultural terms. They dominate not only in the culture and entertainment industry, but everywhere. It thus seems reasonable to argue that the media are central to the very survival of today’s capitalism.
European Labour Relations: Volume I - Common Features
Regionale Mobilität : elf Aufsätze
European Labour Relations, 2018
The globalisation of markets, the concentration of capital, the European integration, the technol... more The globalisation of markets, the concentration of capital, the European integration, the technological revolution and lean management set the productive forces free and led to an enormous increase of productivity on the one hand and to a redistribution of productive forces around the globe on the other hand. While 'flexibility' is the slogan used by management, shortterm, part time and non-standardised jobs spread more and more. These jobholders are rarely unionised. International competition has been largely increased through this globalisation of many markets and services over the past decades. Many small and medium sized companies now have to face these challenges and works councils and unions are often badly prepared. At the same time environmental issues have become essential for the survival of humankind. All this is a substantial challenge for industrial and labour relations. Employment, regarded as the basis for social reproduction and social relationships, is not guaranteed anymore in Europe; we now approach an American or even a Third-World situation. Naturally this is also a challenge for research and for the trade unions.
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Papers by Gyoergy L . Széll
carrot and the stick. The German historian Hans-Ulrich
Wehler draws back this failure of democratic culture to the early 18th century, when Prussia started its ‘Defensive modernisation’, i.e. an authoritarian modernisation top-down, which was copied by Japan in the Meiji-period and by the Asian tigers (South Korea, Taiwan, Singapore, Hong Kong) later on in the 1960s and 1970s.