Articles

Ruby Gropas: Free Movement of Workers Is Non-Negotiable
People need to feel that prosperity and opportunity is fairly shared. As long as European societies feel exposed to job precarity, support for building “walls” would only strengthen – says Ruby Gropas in an interview with Konrad Niklewicz.
The Powerful Have No Clothes!
A couple of months ago, during a big debate on fascism in Bratislava’s Old Market Hall the philosopher Gáspár Miklós Tamás, darling of the Central European youth, declared: “Hitler wasn’t corrupt. Stalin wasn’t corrupt.” People in the audience shouted: “He was! And so was Stalin!” But true to form, Gaspár Miklós Tamás would not let that…
e-Estonia: Between Russia and the Cloud
Estonia may be the very first country in the world to entrust its very sovereignty to cloud-based technologies. Its government is in the process of backing up all of the e-government data to servers in Luxembourg.
Lot of Smoke,
Lot of Money,
but to Little Effect
Orbán’s policy exploits Hungarian minorities abroad to cement its power at home. His calculation is clear: The votes of the foreign Hungarians could secure the constitutional majority of his government in the parliament.
Lonely Island in Big World: Brexit as Imperial Fantasy
The citizens of Eastern European countries felt at home in Great Britain. It seemed a fulfilment of dreams, the place where normality reigned. The referendum showed how false our illusions had been.
Europe’s Last Hope
What Macron wishes to achieve can only be effected through a full political union, which would mean the final end of French sovereignty. He may wish to go down this road, but would France follow him?
European Elections in 2017: Is Myth of the Omnipotent Russia Over?
Feeling this momentum, 2017 was mentioned as the year of change and revolutions by pro-Russian populist politicians such as Matteo Salvini, the leader of the Lega Nord, and Viktor Orbán, the PM of Hungary. There were widespread fears that the „populist international” with Russia, European populists on the left and right, and probably Donald Trump…
Alain Délétroz: Macron Is Not Going to Leave Eastern Europe Behind
I do not expect “sanctions” to be set up against Poland or Hungary in the same way as they have been set up against Russia after the annexation of Crimea – says Alain Délétroz in an interview with Jakub Majmurek.
The Future of Work 4.0
In 1991, Robert Reich, the US economist and secretary of labor in Bill Clinton’s first administration, published a prophetic book entitled The Work of Nations with the subtitle “Preparing ourselves for 21st century capitalism.” Internet in those days was still in its infancy, the concept of shared economy did not exist, and Travis Kalanick, the…
Pavel Kysilka: Let‘s Fire Bureaucrats and Invest Saved Money in Education
Although there is much talk these days of the threat of new trade and other kinds of barriers, the digital world, which knows no borders, will eventually prevail, economist Pavel Kysilka believes. The question is whether this will be a smooth process or one full of glitches, he tells Robert Schuster.
Literature as an Ark
Psalm 44 - Danilo Kiš, translated by Danuta Cirlić-Straszyńska, Książkowe Klimaty (Wroclaw, 2016)
A Familiar Refrain
In Europe’s Shadow: Two Cold Wars and a Thirty-Year Journey Through Romania and Beyond, Robert D. Kaplan (Random House, 2016)
Art Despite War
But tell us why, why did they burn our city down? “Where are you coming from, dark caravan” Serhiy Zhadan, translated by Virlana Tkacz and Wanda Phipps
Future of Jobs from Gender Perspective
Globalization, digitalization, the rapid growth of new technologies, and negative demographic growth have given rise to fundamental changes that will affect the nature of work and have a significant economic and social impact.
Paul Mason: Future without Work, but with a Strong State
British journalist and left-wing activist Paul Mason became famous with his book PostCapitalism two years ago. He set up a vision of a high-tech society where work is scarce and the state is strong. He guesses the European economy should be redesigned in a way that would motivate people to create high-value businesses with low…
No More Sweat
The future of work has become a major theme of political disputes. Some predict a loss of jobs due to globalization or automation. Others argue that since we live longer, we should also work longer. A contradiction? Only apparently.
For Peanuts
What sort of country is it, where a single woman, working six days a week and ten hours a day, is unable to survive without government benefits? A country where millions of hard-working people live in motels or caravans because they are unable to rent an apartment, let alone buy it? A country where every…
To Work or Not to Work
Dear Readers, No doubt we have entered another era. A technological leap has dis-ruptive effects on society in global dimension while undermining existing economic models and political institutions. Rapid qualitative strides made in the development of artificial intelligence test the adaptability of all co-horts of population and create new challenges for lifelong education. In the…