Frieder Otto Wolf: Reflection on the Case Studies

1. What do I want (and not necessarily expect) from case studies?

They should help us to become aware of complexity and even excess – where reality goes beyond the effects of over-determined structures, showing us, how a specified, singular society evolves under the impact of strategic interventions (of neo-liberal policies which follow a general pattern, while varying it). In these cases, the case studies should exhibit, how the singular societies of Eastern Europe have evolved under More

Frieder Otto Wolf: Reflections on the 1. Day

We have tried to address the problems posed by conceiving a modern left wing policy in Europe and in the EU, specifically reflecting its dynamic global context, and trying to reflect recent experiences adequately, while establishing a theoretical basis for a critical approach to them.
The task formulated by Judith Dellheim in the “Opening” had been to clarify the global context and the theoretical basis of the discussion. She had asked the workshop More

Judith Dellheim: Reflections from the Perspective of Socio-Ecologic Transformation

In the beginning I have to come back to the quartet of the 4+2 connection. Globally, energy related activities produce around 63% of climate-damaging emissions and around 77% of all CO2 emissions. Around 28% of climate-damaging emissions and 36% of CO2 emissions stem from electricity generation and heating. Transport accounts for around one quarter of climate-damaging emissions. The transport sphere depends on oil for 96% of its energy; oil is responsible for over 95% of the emissions caused by transport. More

Judith Dellheim: Some Reflections on Societal and Capital Structures, and on Production Pattern

My aim is to show how the capitalist oligarchies have dealt with the crisis and how they use the crisis in order to strengthen their position in global competition, to strengthen their role in the globalization process. This is connected with financialisation and consequently with further oligarchisation. And, this, again, is connected with the development of the production and social structures. The strongest become stronger. More

Judith Dellheim: Opening

This is the fourth meeting of our EU experts’ discussions and I should like to remind or to inform you, very briefly, about its history and also about the main ideas of this project or its underlying “philosophy”.
Our first EU experts’ discussion has taken place in December 2011. It had the ironic title “Crisis, Crisis, Euro Crisis” and helped to overcome More

Kees van der Pijl: The United States and Europe—Bolstering the Infrastructure of Atlantic Unity in a Time of Crisis, Overcoming Rivalry

In these notes[1] I will address the issue of how the United States and the European Union are responding to what is now increasingly recognised as an existential crisis of Western hegemony and liberal capitalism. As George Soros wrote on 23 October 2014 in The Guardian newspaper, the West must keep up its pressure in Ukraine, because if not, the system that has been built up over decades and which includes NATO and the EU, may begin to unravel and as it does, eastern Europe may again come under the influence of a resurgent Russia. More