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Havel on Capitalism

I've been away for some time in foreign corners of the world, so allow me to rejoin the American political discourse by citing a historical observation which seems relevant to our current plight. Explaining the reason for the Czech Republic's economic slump in the mid-90's, then-President Vaclav Havel postulated that it was a "punishment for pride":

The government has embraced an arrogant ideology. They claim to know the key to prosperity. It's analogous to communism. They thought the same thing. The clever ones - themselves - would run everything. That's the analogy. The key to prosperity is to let things run themselves. We'll liberalize everything, let everyone look after himself, let business, not the state, run the economy. The state should have no views, no policies of its own. Just open it all up, step back, let it go and you'll see how well everything will work if we just leave things alone.

These were not prepared remarks. Havel was recorded while drinking scotch and chatting with political advisors. The translation from Czech may be a bit rough, but the relevancy to English-speakers warrants the rendition here. If he'd been born in America, Havel would have been a Republican - and might have succeeded Reagan as one of the great conservative leaders of our time.

Categories > Economy

Discussions - 6 Comments

Vaclav Havel = Ron Paul with an accent.

...and a recognition that there are bad actors in the world that must be defended against.

This gentleman was one of the first to call BS on the Global Warming stuff too.

He has had an impact - he spoke the truth in an articulate manner, and wasn't an American, so could not be dismissed by the biased world media.

Vaclav Havel would not have been a Republican if he'd been born in America. He wouldn't have been a Democrat. He would not have disgraced himself by descending into the pit of filth that is the modern GOP. He is sui generis. He ranks alongside luminaries like Margaret Thatcher, Aung San Suu Kyi and Lech Wałęsa as a champion of liberty. I hope one day to shake him by the hand and tell him of my admiration.

I think you're confusing Vaclav Havel with current Czech President Vaclav Klaus. Same first name, but very different people. In fact, at the time that Havel was quoted, above, Klaus was Prime Minister. They really didn't get along very well.

Republicans are just as bad as Democrats. They're both big government interventionists killing the economy.

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