I'm not going to debate in Barbara's thread, but those are sweeping statements, Quincy.
My first vist to Prague ten years ago left me with some strong memories. The people, total strangers, whom I met gave me fodder for a short essay: their helpfulness, politeness, general friendliness.
Apart from the people, the architecture, the general politeness (young people getting up to offer their seat on the metro and bus), and fantastic music (I attended a concert every day I was there), what I remember especially was the amazing amount of building construction going all--all day and, as far as I could see, all night, because even when I passed the sites after attending an evening concert, there was floodlit activity. As you know, building construction is one of several ways to measure an economy on the rise.
I stayed in what was once a hotel built for the soviet elite, a huge, squat, ugly, really ugly, building. It had been turned into a hostel--my preferred accomodation--and there were few fellow lodgers. The bigwigs had better accomodation in the new hotels. One of the staff told me that this type of building and factories were erected in residential zones with no concern for the impact on the citiyscape or environment. someone else told me that all those ugly soviet buildings would be pulled down as the new buildings were erected. My general impressions and conversatons then and on a later trip do not qualify me as knowledgeable but there might be a reason for privatization to get the economy going. I may be ill-informed, but there was no plundering of the public assets as is the case in another well-known instance.
I remember too, only too well, when the country's economy ran on barter. And I recall the wave of refugees from 68 and following years, some of whom were my personal friends.
This thread has prompted me to pull out a better book to read than the ghastly, poor-wrtten, poorly proofed urban fantasy that I wasted yesterday on.
The book i will switch to contains selected speeches and writings of Vaclav Havel (1975 to 1989). It opens with the well-known open letter (1975) to Gustav Husak. It ends with his 1990 New Year's speech to the nation.
It is in Swedish so I can't recommend it, but the New Year's speech can be read here
http://old.hrad.cz/president/Havel/s.../index_uk.html
I think he is a hero. Not a god, mind you, but a man who has done heroic things, risking his life and livelihood.
So I think I'll spend the rest of Christmas day with him. However, i won't be debating in Barbara's thread.
Vaclav Haval: Freedom Fighter
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