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How Capital Heats the Planet: Introducing Fordulat Journal’s Latest Issue on “Climate Change and Capitalism”

Many of the pieces in the latest Fordulat issue argue, climate change is the result of very specific and not at all inevitable historical developments closely tied to the unfolding of capitalism between the 16th and 18th centuries.

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All posts Solidarity Call

To the Friends of the Lukács Archive – An appeal of the Lukács Archive International Foundation

Because of the threatening attacks on the LAK and on academic freedom – and even on the MTA – we have to work on urging and supporting the research of Lukács without the traditional institutional background. Therefore, we would like to kindly ask the friends of LANA, those organisations and people – who besides expressing their solidarity, are intending to support our work financially – to contribute towards the expenses of LANA and to the realisation of our plans.

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All posts Interviews Theory

Searching for Alternatives in Eastern Europe

“…History, rather, is an alternative process in which socialism has a great chance because there are no other real alternatives to capitalism. This is the reason why Marx is so reviled in Eastern Europe. Nevertheless, in the absence of a socialist perspective, humankind might face total self-destruction. This is also a realistic alternative.”

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Workers won in Audi Hungary: “We hope that our strike has send the message to other employees to unite”

Employees of Audi Hungary in the western city of Györ conducted a successful seven-day strike in late January. It was the AHFSZ (Audi Hungaria Independent Trade Union) that led the strike. The AHFSZ currently has 9,700 members in the plant (72% of the workers) and defines itself as a “union independent from all political parties […]

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[VIDEO] Trailer of Georg, a documentary about György Lukács

Note from LeftEast editors: We are happy to share the trailer of Georg, a documentary about Marxist philosopher György Lukács which will be released in April 2019. Beyond the merits of the philosopher’s work, the movie’s appearance also bears witness on two different levels. On the one hand, it comes in the year when the Left in […]

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All posts Protests

Protesting the “slave law” in Hungary: The erosion of illiberal hegemony?

This post is published with the permission of FocaalBlog, the blog of Focaal: Journal of Global and Historical Anthropology.                     In recent weeks, Hungary has again made international headlines. This time, it was a popular movement born out of resistance to the latest rewriting of the labor code—which […]

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The Political Economy of Hungary’s New “Slave Law”

The new protest wave in December 2018 Demonstrations erupted on the streets of Budapest after the Hungarian parliament—controlled by the fourth consecutive super majority of Fidesz government—had just passed three crucial laws in a rapid parliamentary voting on 12th December, which oppositional parties claimed unlawful. The three major elements in the government’s package were the […]

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The World Today Attila Melegh With Tariq Ali – EU Eyesores #3: Hungary

Hungary is a landlocked country positioned on the EU’s eastern border. Today, it is also a major route for migrants and refugees travelling to Western Europe. The Hungarian government has responded by building a large border fence, and by scapegoating and persecuting the migrants passing through. This week, Tariq is speaking to sociologist Attila Melegh, […]

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Gender Studies in Hungary are now being linked to broader struggles: Interview with Anikó Gregor 

LeftEast editor Agnes Gagyi spoke to Anikó Gregor, one of the faculty in charge of the Gender Studies masters program at Budapest-based Eötvös Loránd University (ELTE), shut down by the governments de-accreditation of Gender Studies programs in November. Gregor’s analysis places the ban in the context of Fidesz’s strategy of emphasizing liberal democracy’s failures, economic […]

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With 10,000 People on the Streets, The Slave Law Means a New Phase

The Hungarian Parliament  accepted a bill referred to as “slave law” on December 12th in a scandalous session.. The governing party endorsed the proposition with no social dialogue beforehand. Setting new standards for maximum overtime and its payment the bill sparked outrage and militant protests unseen for over a decade. The parallel privatisation of a […]