I remember these streetcars in Prague in 1992 looking very much as they looked here. The only difference is that in 1992 the occasional streetcar would be painted as a giant ad for M&Ms, or Skittles. Capitalism was on the march.
In these pages White portrays the entire system in the eastern bloc as on the decline economically, despite enormous gains earlier (after WWII). One might fairly ask though, if we look at economic growth in the US at the same time, don’t we see a similar story?
I’m no economist but the numbers of growth in the US are generally under 10% and often under 5%. What is the difference? White offer up a few clues. Did you pick them up?
Secondly, in the chapter on “Change” it is so interesting to read this story now when so much potential change appears to be happening in the Middle East. Is Libya going to turn out like Romania? Is Egypt more like Hungary or CZ? Those sorts of comparisons might provide some really interesting analysis in today’s world. I’ll try to look for my ’92 visit to Prague pictures tonight. Maybe I can bring a few in for show & tell.
We see a shift in communist views especially in Yugoslavia where they identify with the idea that socialism isn’t that different to capitalism. This was mostly true because White says that Communist nations know how to deal with extensive development and straightforward task but not intensive and complicated ones. That’s why production exceeds what consumers can, products are met to meet the demands of planners and not consumers, which eventualy leads to a declining economy.