In 2010, the Eurozone became the epicentre of the world crisis. The vulnerability of Europe appears to be linked to the specific institutional arrangement which organises monetary, financial and budgetary policies within the Eurozone. This article tries to understand the evolution of theeuduring a short but decisive historical sequence in a theoretical framework that puts elements of Gramsci’s reflections on the theme of crisis, and especially his notion of ‘Caesarism’, at its centre. It addresses the current debate concerning the relationships (...) between democratic politics and neoliberalism, while focusing on how the radicalisation of the crisis put at stake the co-construction of capitalism and representative democracy in the Western world sincewwii. (shrink)

In their book Spare Parts, published in 1992, Fox and Swazey criticized various aspects of organ transplantation, including the routinization of the procedure, ignorance regarding its inherent uncertainties, and the ethos of transplant professionals. Using this work as a frame of reference, we analyzed articles on organ transplantation published in internal medicine and transplantation journals between 1995 and 2008 to see whether Fox and Swazey’s critiques of organ transplantation were still relevant.

Cette communication examine les problèmes associés à l'usage de l'anglais comme un néoespéranto contemporain. Toutefois, l'anglais ne présente aucune des caractéristiques d'une langue internationale planifiée et son usage fait automatiquement retomber les organisations internationales qui l'utilisent comme langue de travail sous la houlette d'anglophones natifs. D'autre part, pour les natifs des autres langues, la perte des outils de définition et de représentation des connaissances stérilise leur créativité et les entraîne dans un conformisme réducteur, qui accélère leur déclin. La prise de (...) conscience de ces conséquences est essentielle avant que des mesures puissent être prises pour combattre efficacement la langue unique et aller plus loin que l'actuel multilinguisme et multiculturalisme de façade.This paper focuses on the problems caused by the use of English as if it were a new kind of Esperanto. However, English does not have any of the features of a language specifically designed for international communication. Moreover, the belief that English is neutral as a communication tool is just wishful thinking. Any international organization that uses English as its working language unavoidably falls back into the control of native English speakers. Furthermore, by spreading the use of English more and more into their own national settings, non-English natives lose their tools for definition and representation. This process turns them into trend followers, sterilizes their creativity and accelerates their decline. It is essential that people become conscious of the seriousness of the present situation for a mass reaction to crystallize that will eventually restore basic language rights which current national constitutions no longer guarantee beyond the paper on which they are written. (shrink)

In the roots of political culture in the USA, Tocqueville long ago noted with concern an individualism that could undercut needed structures of shared community. This individualism, argues the author, is one key feature of American culture that tends to empower military interventionism by empowering American elites to go their own way and pursue their own interests, without too much worry that they will be held accountable to more communitarian standards. Yet, American culture is not one-sided, and the author encourages (...) public appeals to another, balancing cultural value, that of republicanism. The author also touches briefly on the cultural tradition of American messianism and its value to globe-conquering elites. (shrink)

Faced with the threat of pandemic influenza, several countries have made the decision to put a number of measures in place which have been incorporated into national plans. In view of the magnitude of the powers and responsibilities that States assume in the event of a pandemic, a review of the various national preparedness and response plans for pandemic influenza brought to light a series of extremely important ethical concerns. Nevertheless, in spite of the recent emergence of literature focusing specifically (...) on the ethical aspects of pandemics, too few studies explicitly examine public participation as one means of ethical contribution to public health policies. Thus this article seeks, in the first place, to present an analysis of the various national preparedness and response plans for pandemic influenza, and secondly, to outline the role that the plans envisage for ethics and more importantly for public participation. (shrink)

Faced with the threat of pandemic influenza, several countries have made the decision to put a number of measures in place which have been incorporated into national plans. In view of the magnitude of the powers and responsibilities that States assume in the event of a pandemic, a review of the various national preparedness and response plans for pandemic influenza brought to light a series of extremely important ethical concerns. Nevertheless, in spite of the recent emergence of literature focusing specifically (...) on the ethical aspects of pandemics, too few studies explicitly examine public participation as one means of ethical contribution to public health policies. Thus this article seeks, in the first place, to present an analysis of the various national preparedness and response plans for pandemic influenza, and secondly, to outline the role that the plans envisage for ethics and more importantly for public participation. (shrink)