ABSTRACTS


Orthmayr, Imre
Methodological Individualism

Methodological individualism is the theoretical stance which requires that all social phenomena be explained, in the last resort, in terms of individual properties and actions. This explanatory priority of individuals must be distinguished from other priority theses, namely from those of ontological, epistemological, or logical individualism. For a closer specification of this view, further points have to be clarified: (1) which individual properties may explain social phenomena, (2) how do these properties explain them and, finally, (3) to what extent is it necessary or possible to exclude social properties from the explanans? In the course of the examination of these questions, the paper points out the ambiguities of methodological individualist theory and some risks involved in its misapplications.


Asztalos-Morell, Ildikó
Inequalities of Genders Unfolding in the Period of State Socialism
Theses of the Feminist Approach

The state socialist system evolved a society, where women's economic activity rate was one of the highest amongst industrialised countries. The state socialist ideology envisaged women's increased labour force participation as the means of liberating them from the personal bondage characterising reproductive work. However, women's subordination was reproduced, which was secured by the articulation of two systems: women's continued responsibility for the reproduction of labour power in the form of caring for the family on the one hand, and the gender segregation of the labour force on the other hand. This paper intends to interpret the gender segregation of labour in the three spheres of labour (wage labour, second economy and household labour) in the context of the state socialist agricultural production system. The gender division of labour is considered as the material base of the reproduction of the patriarchal system within the state socialist production organisation, while the norms of 'maleness' and 'femaleness' enforced by the state's legal regulation of women's productive and reproductive work constituted the ideological base.


Laki, László
Some Features of the Specificities of Hungarian Development

The paper attempts to outline some economic-social trends stretching and pointing beyond the Hungarian systemic changes that have taken place repeatedly in the present century. Our starting point is that the recurrent and fundamentally different systemic changes, coming in every twenty or fifty years – one should remember the diametrically opposite views on ownership relations or on the market and of course the social practices – are answers given to ‘lagging behind’ in comparison to the centenarian trends defined by the direction of development and dynamism of countries in the vanguard of the world economy of the day and to being pushed to the ‘periphery’. It is then understood that the previous system (and its change) did not improve the situation of the country in respect of ‘catching up’, and there is the hope and vision that the new system(ic change) would be far more effective.

It is believed that Hungarian development has several such trends which continues to flow and live as an undercurrent behind the systemic changes wishing to transform the economy, the legal and political system, the ownership and equity relations rapidly and profoundly. And these trends and continuities ultimately call attention to the fact that the radicalism and voluntarism of the systemic change of the day, upsetting the society, is forced to accept already in the short run and fit into the possibilities of development offered by these basic trends.


Czakó, Ágnes
Small Enterprises in the Early 90s

The paper is of the view that the Hungarian small enterprises of the 90s are enterprises only in common parlance, otherwise the majority of them do not operate as enterprises but are primarily of self-employment. The fast expansion of the sphere of entrepreneurs in itself does not mean the growth of the market. With the help of the analysis of the socio-economic resources determining their survival the author draws the conclusion that the small organisations, working as companies and the real enterprises have stabilised in the period under survey, the economic survival of the self-employing small existences is influenced partly by demographic factors, and partly by changes in the labour market; the larger proportion of their winding up which can be experienced in their circle, can be explained by the nature of their activity.


Csite, András
Embourgeoisement and Disputes on Embourgeoisement

The paper surveys the most important results and disputes of researches of contemporary history in the topic of embourgeoisement in the 70s and 80s. At first the major statements of the social scientists who have participated in the dispute on embourgeoisement are presented, next it studies what could be the essence of the discourse on embourgeoisement in the Hungarian social science of the late 80s. Finally, the author explores the causes of the ‘degradation’ of the issue of embourgeoisement and the petering off of the disputes in scientific life. It is the objective of the paper to contribute to the reconsideration of those characteristics of embourgeoisement as a research tradition which may be important to the understanding of the present changes.


Vicsek, Lilla
The Image of Gypsies in the Hungarian Press (March–June 1995)

The paper is a report on research during the course of which 339 articles, related to Gypsies and published between March and June 1995 in the Hungarian national dailies, were analysed. On the basis of the code instructions based on the methodology of content analysis, an attempt was made to map what characterised the image drawn about the Gypsies in the Hungarian press at the time when the National Gypsy Self-Government was elected.

On the basis of the content analysis of the approximately 340 articles, constituting the basis of processing, it can be stated that problems dominated in the image of Gypsies drawn by the press. Stressing the difficulties and negative phenomena were equally present on the level of the individual topics as well as of the actors of the articles.

The negative, problem oriented image of Gypsies became a positive one without reservations only in the case of the artist elites, however, as artists and sportsmen are regarded as a separate group by many, it does not change the negative image the readers have about Gypsies as a whole. One would expect the emergence of a kind of positive image in relation to another group of the Gypsy elite, namely the political one, and if – as contrasted to experiences related to the artist elites – that positive image would emerge it could contribute to a more positive character of the image about Gypsies as a whole. However, as there have been objections to the behaviour of many Gypsy political actors in the press (openly or indirectly), such a positive image has not emerged in relation to them, or to the Gypsies as such.