European Culture and World Development [antikvár]

Introduction It is a great pleasure to present this volume of studies to the nations and peoples participating in the European Cultural Forum (Budapest, October—November 1985), and to the international public at large. The studies have been developed under the auspices and with the support of UNESCO in a close cooperative framework that brought together scholars from both East and West. The way in which these studies have been conceived and implemented, in an atmosphere of collegiality and mutual respect, motivated by common principles and shared objectives, is itself a shining example of the kind of cultural cooperation to which the European Cultural Forum is dedicated. This volume should be read both for what it tells us about culture and its role in society, and for what it represents by the very fact of its existence. It is impossible to summarize the rich and varied contents of the studies in the brief space of these introductory remarks. Let it suffice to say that they fall into three broad categories: foundational studies which develop the meaning of the terms "culture" and "development" in the appropriate contemporary context and show the kind of role culture now plays in the process of development and can be expected to play in the future; elaborations on the theme of culture and development, discussing the interaction between the cultural dimension of society and its socio-economic dimensions with all the complex questions calling for further penetrating research; and applications of the above developed concepts to concrete issues of cultural poUcy, joined by case studies of processes of national development in which the living culture of a people played a major and often crucial role.