Kapitalizmus és szocializmus Bibó István gondolatrendszerében [István Bibó on Capitalism and Socialism]

Peter Cserne, PPCU

Abstract

Although István Bibó’s (1911–1979) reputation in Hungary is based on his political and historical essays, he has written much on economic and social issues as well. As an anti-speculative thinker, he formulated his views each time in the context of actual economic and social problems. Starting from the critique of modernity and a sort of elitism in the 30’s, his interest turned toward the serious deformations of Hungarian social structure, especially the situation of the agrarian population. His great private lecture on The Meaning of the Development of European Society (1971–72) treated the history of Europe from a philosophical perspective to reconstruct the tendencies toward and the Christian origins of “the humanisation of power” and to formulate the ideal of a society based on “mutual services” (a form of decentralised socialism, respecting liberal individual rights). The lecture reflects the conflict between Bibó’s long term optimism and the events of 1968 both in East and West which seemed to perpetuate the false dichotomy of American capitalism and Soviet-type socialism, with the increasing power of bureaucracies in both systems. Bibó’s purpose has been to transcend the “allegedly irreconcilable opposition” between freedom and equality on the theoretical and the institutional level as well.