Addresses the problem of whether an objective, realistic social science is possible or whether any social science is bound to remain merely a form of ideology-that is of systematically false, distorted belief. Formulates some ways of thinking about an autonomous social reality that can serve as...

The invasion of Czechoslovakia in August 1968 is usually portrayed as a carefully planned operation directed at clearly formulated goals, which eventually resulted in success for Soviet policy in Czechoslovakia. In this article it is argued that present reality makes Soviet policy appear more...

The Soviet invasion of Czechoslovakia in August 1968 and the Czechoslovak response to it resulted in a political stalemate. Although the invasion was a military success, it was a political failure. A nearly unanimous response of Czechoslovakia's population, rulers, and institutions quickly took...

Two years after the Soviet invasion of Hungary, Janos Kadar, the leader installed by the Soviets was already proclaiming that 'anyone who is not against us is for us.' Two years after the invasion of Czechoslovakia in 1968, only the highest levels of party and government had been effectively...

Non-cognitivism, the belief that normative statements, unlike empirical statements do NOT convey objective knowledge is deeply embedded in mainstream social science methodology and strongly influences the views of social scientists on the status of values in social science. This article...

Explores difficulties that inevitably spring up when the attempt is made to define the “interests of society.” The needs of individual members of society differ, and often conflict with each other, with the interests of other members of society, and with the interests of “society as a...

Case study research can be viewed as continuous with both experimental science and history, and as theoretical in character. In experimental science, typical initial conditions are held constant, yet initial conditions may range from the very general and abstract to the very rich and specific. A...