From the Continent: Gorbachev’s Inheritance

Chernenko is dead, and the inhabitants of the satellite states of Central Europe wonder what is in store for them under Mikhail Gorbachev. In a near monarchy, in which a certain collegiality stands in lieu of a subservient parliament, the person of the ruler is of crucial importance. But it is also crucial that the ruler understand the ruled. In spite of the common denominator of Marxism-Leninism, life in Poland is vastly different from life in East Germany, and the same can be said of Czechoslovakia, Hungary, Rumania, and Bulgaria. Communism hasn’t yet succeeded in erasing national identities.

Hungary, for instance, has more personal freedom than Poland, where the resistance to Communism is much greater; but those two countries are, in their ways, the freest in the Communist orbit. Where do the differences among these countries come from? There are four key elements (in ascending order of importance): the historic memories of nations, their national characters, their social structures, and their religious convictions.

EK

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Erik von Kuehnelt-Leddihn

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Chernenko is dead, and the inhabitants of the satellite states of Central Europe wonder what is in store for them under Mikhail Gorbachev. In a near monarchy, in which a certain collegiality stands in lieu of a subservient parliament, the person of the ruler is of crucial importance. But it is also crucial that the ruler understand the ruled. In spite of the common denominator of Marxism-Leninism, life in Poland is vastly different from life in East Germany, and the same can be said of Czechoslovakia, Hungary, Rumania, and Bulgaria. Communism hasn’t yet succeeded in erasing national identities.

Hungary, for instance, has more personal freedom than Poland, where the resistance to Communism is much greater; but those two countries are, in their ways, the freest in the Communist orbit. Where do the differences among these countries come from? There are four key elements (in ascending order of importance): the historic memories of nations, their national characters, their social structures, and their religious convictions.