The process of market transition in Eastern Europe has proven both unexpectedly easy and unexpectedly difficult. It was easy in a sense that no one thought this kind of transformation was possible even just a few years before it happened. Yet it has been difficult because building democratic and market institutions requires in-depth reforms and necessitates changing the old mindsets, which is a very difficult issue. One of the hard-to-overcome elements of the post-communist mindset has been the lack of personal responsibility and the expectation to be taken care of by the state. As a result, the transition to democratic market economy entailed the change in values toward making free choices – and toward taking responsibility for those choices.
Transcript available in English and Russian
Recent Comments