What we want is to establish the rules of a market economy - not to plan its outcome.
From Vaclav Klaus
Then in 1969, I spent the spring term at Cornell University in New York. The invasion of August 1968 had already happened, but the hardline regime took several months to crack down on dissidents.
By the time I returned to Czechoslovakia, I had an understanding of the principles of the market.
I never intended to be a politician or office-seeker.
The events in the square, of course, made a deep impression on me and many other parents.
To pursue a so-called Third Way is foolish. We had our experience with this in the 1960s when we looked for a socialism with a human face. It did not work, and we must be explicit that we are not aiming for a more efficient version of a system that has failed.
We must have the time to create strict rules so that property is not sold by Communist managers for a low price. They often get payments under the table to sell to the first bidder. This does not build public support for a market economy.
I live in Europe and care about democracy and sovereignty of nation states there.
I was paid to read Western economic texts. In a way, the regime paid for their own undermining.
We served on the editorial board of a literary monthly called Face in 1968 and 1969. He was a young writer, and I was also interested in broad cultural issues. We agreed on all major issues and became friends.
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