Paulo Freire, the great Brazilian intellectual-activist, died almost unnoticed last year. Network Cultures pays him homage in a text both sympathetic and critical. Those who believe in the necessary awakening and the dignity of the alienated and the excluded owe a lot to the author of " The Pedagogy of the Oppressed ". Another article in this issue highlights three creative utopias which the " third world " suggests how to help the West solve its own cultural crisis and get rid of its productivistic materialism and reductionistic rationalism. Hassan Zaoual reminds us of the importance of peoples' beliefs, in the realm of economics as well. He shows that the axiomatic homo oeconomicus is but a crude economistic theory, quite remote from the homo situs, the real person with her or his creeds, emotions, values and strategies. Edith Sizoo presents the methodology used by Network Cultures-Europe in its research programmes. The demanding " two waves " approach is designed to intensify the quality of the debates and the interactive participation of all concerned. This issue also presents various on-going activities and meetings within our South-North Network throughout the world.
If you are bored to tears with Bill's adventures, you may like to try " Cultures and Development "...