Gáspár Miklós Tamás (; 28 November 1948 – 15 January 2023), often referred to as TGM, was a Romanian-born Hungarian political philosopher and public intellectual, influenced by

Marxism Marxism is a political philosophy and method of socioeconomic analysis. It uses a dialectical and materialist interpretation of historical development, better known as historical materialism, to analyse class relations, social conflict, ...

and

libertarian socialism Libertarian socialism is an anti-authoritarian and anti-capitalist political current that emphasises self-governance and workers' self-management. It is contrasted from other forms of socialism by its rejection of state ownership and from other ...

. He was a contributor to online newspaper ''Mérce'' and to ''

OpenDemocracy openDemocracy is an independent media platform and news website based in the United Kingdom. Founded in 2001, openDemocracy states that through reporting and analysis of social and political issues, they seek to "challenge power and encourage d ...

'', where he wrote primarily about political and aesthetic questions. He was the father of British poet and writer Rebecca Tamás.

Biography

Gáspár Miklós Tamás was born in today's

Cluj Cluj-Napoca ( ; ), or simply Cluj ( , ), is a city in northwestern Romania. It is the second-most populous city in the country and the seat of Cluj County. Geographically, it is roughly equidistant from Bucharest (), Budapest () and Belgrade ( ...

, Romania, but emigrated to

Budapest Budapest is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns of Hungary, most populous city of Hungary. It is the List of cities in the European Union by population within city limits, tenth-largest city in the European Union by popul ...

, Hungary, in 1978, where he lived for much of his life. His mother was Jewish and escaped being deported to Auschwitz because she was imprisoned for being a communist. As a dissident at the end of the

state socialist State socialism is a political and economic ideology within the socialist movement that advocates state ownership of the means of production. This is intended either as a temporary measure, or as a characteristic of socialism in the transition ...

period, he was initially a

libertarian socialist Libertarian socialism is an anti-authoritarian and anti-capitalist political current that emphasises self-governance and workers' self-management. It is contrasted from other forms of socialism by its rejection of state ownership and from other ...

. While in contact with libertarian authors, his perspective was distinct from the

Budapest School The Budapest School (; ) was a school of thought, originally of Marxist humanism, but later of post-Marxism and dissident liberalism that emerged in Hungary in the early 1960s, belonging to so-called Hungarian New Left. Its members were student ...

, a major

school of thought A school of thought, or intellectual tradition, is the perspective of a group of people who share common characteristics of opinion or outlook of a philosophy, discipline, belief, social movement, economics, cultural movement, or art movement. ...

in Hungarian

Neo-Marxism Neo-Marxism is a collection of Marxist schools of thought originating from 20th-century approaches to amend or extend Marxism and Marxist theory, typically by incorporating elements from other intellectual traditions such as critical theory, psy ...

. He was also a member of the informal group called the " democratic opposition". From 1986 to 1988, he taught in the U.S., Britain, and France, and also continued his studies at

Oxford University The University of Oxford is a collegiate research university in Oxford, England. There is evidence of teaching as early as 1096, making it the oldest university in the English-speaking world and the second-oldest continuously operating u ...

. At the beginning of the post-socialist era in 1989, he became committed to a liberal program, and was a leader of the

Alliance of Free Democrats The Alliance of Free Democrats – Hungarian Liberal Party (, , SZDSZ ) was a liberal political party in Hungary. The SZDSZ was a member of the Alliance of Liberals and Democrats for Europe Party and of Liberal International. It drew its su ...

(SZDSZ). As a representative of the party, he was a member of the

Hungarian Parliament The National Assembly ( ) is the parliament of Hungary. The unicameral body consists of 199 (386 between 1990 and 2014) members elected to four-year terms. Election of members is done using a semi-proportional representation: a mixed-member ...

from 1989 to 1994, and served the party's president through 1994, departing the party in 2000. He was a prominent democratic opponent of the Hungarian government under

János Kádár János József Kádár (; ; né Czermanik; 26 May 1912 – 6 July 1989) was a Hungarian Communist leader and the General Secretary of the Hungarian Socialist Workers' Party, a position he held for 32 years. Declining health led to his retireme ...

and

Viktor Orbán Viktor Mihály Orbán (; born 31 May 1963) is a Hungarian lawyer and politician who has been the 56th prime minister of Hungary since 2010, previously holding the office from 1998 to 2002. He has also led the Fidesz political party since 200 ...

. He became the

Green Left The term green left refers primarily to a political affiliation that combines elements of green politics and left-wing politics in countries where the term is used. It is primarily a social justice and human rights oriented ideology, with an exp ...

's president in 2010. Tamás was known for developing the concept of

post-fascism Post-fascism is a label that identifies political parties and movements that transition from a fascist political ideology to a more moderate and mainline form of conservatism, abandoning the totalitarian traits of fascism and taking part in con ...

and the term ethnicism. In his words, Tamás died on 15 January 2023, at the age of 74.

Personal life

He described himself as a "conservative

anarchist Anarchism is a political philosophy and Political movement, movement that seeks to abolish all institutions that perpetuate authority, coercion, or Social hierarchy, hierarchy, primarily targeting the state (polity), state and capitalism. A ...

" and a

Marxist Marxism is a political philosophy and method of socioeconomic analysis. It uses a dialectical and materialist interpretation of historical development, better known as historical materialism, to analyse class relations, social conflic ...

Bibliography

Books in English

Books in French

Books in German

Books in Hungarian

* * * *Tamás, Gáspár Miklós (2021) Antitézis ntithesis(in Hungarian). Budapest, Hungary: Pesti Kalligram. ISBN 9789634682035

External links

* Some of his lectures
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* Some of his speeches
12

Central European University: Academic Profile of Gáspár Miklós Tamás
* "Hatred and Betrayal." ''The Guardian'', 9 May 200

* "Hungary: Where We Went Wrong." Interview with

Chris Harman Christopher John Harman (8 November 1942 – 7 November 2009) was a British journalist and political activist, and a member of the Central Committee of the Socialist Workers Party. He was an editor of '' International Socialism'' and '' S ...

. ''International Socialism'', 24 June 2009

* "The Left and Marxism in Eastern Europe: An Interview with Gáspár Miklós Tamás." Interview with

Imre Szeman Imre Szeman (born 26 July 1968) is a Canadian cultural theorist, professor, and public intellectual. He is Director of the Institute for Environment, Conservation, and Sustainability and Professor of Human Geography at the University of Toronto S ...

. ''Mediations: Journal of the Marxist Literary Group'', volume 24, number 2, Spring 2009

* "On Post-Fascism." ''Boston Review'', Summer 2000

*"Socialism and Freedom." ''Jacobin'', 5.12.2015

* "Telling the Truth about Class." ''Socialist Register'' vol. 42, 2006

* "Words from Budapest." ''New Left Review'' 80, March–April 2013