@gerardroland.bsky.social
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gerardroland.bsky.social
@gerardroland.bsky.social
· 1d
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The extraordinary years of 1989-1991: part I.
Leftists at the NATO conference, meeting Gorbachev's advisers at the European Commission, the Fall of the Berlin wall and the collapse of communism in Central Europe.
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gerardroland.bsky.social
@gerardroland.bsky.social
· 8d
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Spending time in Moscow (1988): part II.
Glasnost (transparency) in action in Moscow. Back to my family. The contrast between Moscow and Bologna.
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gerardroland.bsky.social
@gerardroland.bsky.social
· 15d
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Living in Moscow (1988): part I.
Experiencing simultaneously the glasnost and explosion of free expression and the shortage economy.
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gerardroland.bsky.social
@gerardroland.bsky.social
· 22d
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Becoming Doctor Roland: 1987-1988.
Highlights of my dissertation, public defense and publication at L'Harmattan.
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gerardroland.bsky.social
@gerardroland.bsky.social
· 29d
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Working on my Ph.D with two small children
Elsa was born in 1983 and Florence was born in 1984.
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gerardroland.bsky.social
@gerardroland.bsky.social
· Sep 5
gerardroland.substack.com/p/working-on...
Working on my Ph.D. (1983-1987): part III
Discovering Kornai's magnum opus, learning Russian, discovering the absence of real plans ... and the arrival of Gorbachev.
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gerardroland.bsky.social
@gerardroland.bsky.social
· Aug 29
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Working on my Ph.D. (1983-1987): part II
Investment cycles and bad quality of products under central planning and the birth of Florence.
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gerardroland.bsky.social
@gerardroland.bsky.social
· Aug 22
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Working on my Ph.D. (1983-1987): part I
By the time I finished my BA, Jacky Nagels offered me a full-time job as his teaching assistant (TA) for his course on introductory economics in social sciences, which allowed me to work on my doctora...
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gerardroland.bsky.social
@gerardroland.bsky.social
· Aug 15
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Going to University (1979-1983): part IV.
Operations research, business cycles, Anti-Equilibrium, honors thesis and ... Elsa.
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gerardroland.bsky.social
@gerardroland.bsky.social
· Aug 8
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gerardroland.bsky.social
@gerardroland.bsky.social
· Aug 1
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Going to University (1979-1984): Part II
Learning economics, optimiztion, computer languages
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gerardroland.bsky.social
@gerardroland.bsky.social
· Jul 25
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Going to University (1979-1984): part I
Throughout the 1970s, I had often gone to ULB for numerous political events. October 1979 was different. I went to the campus but as a fresh student of economics.
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gerardroland.bsky.social
@gerardroland.bsky.social
· Jul 18
gerardroland.substack.com/p/looking-ba...
Looking back at my Maoist years (1971-1981): part III.
Education of an activist, personality destruction but also some positive lessons.
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gerardroland.bsky.social
@gerardroland.bsky.social
· Jul 11
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Looking back at my Maoist years (1971-1981): II.
What lessons did I draw then and later on from my years as a Maoist activist?
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gerardroland.bsky.social
@gerardroland.bsky.social
· Jul 4
gerardroland.substack.com/p/looking-ba...
Looking back at my Maoist years (1971-1981): I.
What lessons did I draw then and later on from my years as a Maoist activits?
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gerardroland.bsky.social
@gerardroland.bsky.social
· Jun 27
gerardroland.substack.com/p/my-eventua...
My eventual exclusion from the Workers' Party of Belgium (PTB-PVDA) (1981).
Trying to open up discussions rethinking Maoism eventually got me excluded but with little hysteria.
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gerardroland.bsky.social
@gerardroland.bsky.social
· Jun 20
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The aftermath of Mao’s death and rethinking everything about Maoism.
Mao's death in 1976, the rejection of the cultural revolution and economic reforms in China led me, like so many others Maoists, to call into question most of Maoist ideas.
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gerardroland.bsky.social
@gerardroland.bsky.social
· Jun 13
Share AMADA years and Heddy: (1976-1979)
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AMADA years and Heddy: (1976-1979)
After having fought for the political line of the more successful Maoist organization AMADA, my entry in that organization was by far not that happy, but I met Heddy, the great love of my life.
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gerardroland.bsky.social
@gerardroland.bsky.social
· Jun 6
gerardroland.substack.com/p/tram-drive...
Tram driver (1976-1978).
While all this turmoil was going on, I did not stay unemployed for long and managed to get a job as a tram driver in Brussels at the STIB.
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gerardroland.bsky.social
@gerardroland.bsky.social
· May 30
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Cultural revolution madness (1976): Part II.
Could I have guessed early February 1976 that I would have to hide from my own comrades? It is a miracle that nobody died during this crazy meltdown.
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gerardroland.bsky.social
@gerardroland.bsky.social
· May 23
gerardroland.substack.com/p/cultural-r...
Cultural revolution madness (1976): Part I.
A cultural revolution-like movement developed within Maoist organization UCMLB. It is a miracle that with the mass hysteria created nobody died in those months of early 1976.
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1
gerardroland.bsky.social
@gerardroland.bsky.social
· May 16
gerardroland.substack.com/p/the-life-o...
The life of an activist (1973-1976)
In previous posts, I talked mostly about my experiences as a worker and living in Molenbeek. Here, I describe the daily life of a Maoist activist working in factories.
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gerardroland.bsky.social
@gerardroland.bsky.social
· May 9
Share Living in Molenbeek (1973-1976)
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Living in Molenbeek (1973-1976)
My years of living in the Moroccan area of Molenbeek.
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gerardroland.bsky.social
@gerardroland.bsky.social
· May 2
gerardroland.substack.com/p/military-s...
Military service and Michelin (1975-1976).
In this post, like the last few weeks and the coming week, I describe my experience working in factories between 1973 and 1978. Today, I mention mostly my experience during military service.
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gerardroland.bsky.social
@gerardroland.bsky.social
· Apr 25
Working in factories: Côte d’or (1974-1975)
open.substack.com/pub/gerardro...
Working in factories: Côte d’or (1974-1975)
In this post, like the last few weeks and the coming week, I describe my experience working in factories between 1973 and 1978.
open.substack.com
