History/Political Science paper by Zachar, Péter Krisztián
Possibilities for a New Social Model? Vid Mihelics' Forgotten Work and the Social Question (1921-1944) (Accepted)
Type of Abstract (select):Abstract (max. 250 words):
One of the most important terrains of the European search for new ways in politics between the two world wars was the debate on the reorganisation and tasks of the state and, within it, of the economy and society. The proposals for solutions were many and varied, but this topic dominated the academic discourse in the 20s and 30s in many regards. The thinkers who sought answers (economists, philosophers, historians, sociologists, ecclesiastics) could build on a number of early predecessors, going back as far as St Thomas Aquinas's 'organic view of society' and later embodied in the economic and political theory of Jesuit solidarism. The common feature of the theories of our period was that they approached the construction of the state not from the point of view of the individual, but from the point of view of social groups. A prominent exponent of these ideas in Hungary was Vid Mihelics, who from the very beginning devoted his journalistic, scientific and political activities to the Hungarian Catholi,c revival. After his upbringing in the Cistercian Order, he worked continuously as a journalist, and his interests increasingly focused on social issues and the social teaching of the Church. His writings were also centred around these themes, seeking solutions through the ideas of Christian humanism, which for him was 'the inalienable essence of true Europeanism'. This lecture aims to summarise and present this ideas and thoughts on state, politics and society.
Brief Professional Bio (max. 100 words):
Péter Krisztián Zachar, Phd, habil. is a Hungarian historian, associate professor, head of the Department for International Relations and Diplomacy at the University of Public Service, Budapest. His major field of research is the history of the 19th and 20th century in Central Europe, the history of advocacy organisations, e.g. chambers, the theoretical background of social partnership, the catholic social thought and the history of international relations. In previous years he participated in several Hungarian National Science Research Projects (OTKA) and was the leader of the OTKA-research group „Economic and social reform-concepts and social models in the interwar period”.