Abstract

The following reflections have their origin in a conjunction of several events: the Russian invasion and occupation of Afghanistan; the popular uprising and the toppling of the Iranian regime followed by a combination of anarchy and crude theocracy; the Vietnamese conquest of Cambodia which followed the extermination of half of the Cambodian population by “their own” rulers; the installation of governments supported and maintained by the Russians in Angola, Mozambique, Ethiopia and Southern Yemen; the “energy crisis”; accelerated inflation; the foundering of what had up till now appeared to be the tranquil course of modern capitalism.

With the possible exception of the resurgence of religion as a social and political factor in Iran, none of these events by themselves present significant novelty.