So, whats life like at the edge of Europe?
After 6 months in Lithuanian, I am struck by the dangerous assumptions that have been made regarding the seemingly natural fusion between capitalism and democracy. If the market was made open to competition and free enterprise allowed, democracy would develop organically. But, building democratic institutions is more complex than simply making money. It involves personal commitment, public interest, civil action and, most importantly, governmental accountability. Another crucial ingredient is personal empowerment – the feeling that any individual has the ability and, more importantly, the right to affect and influence policies and governmental actions. It’s not enough to simply elect government officials. They must be monitored and the people remain involved throughout the process. This change is primarily a psychological one and counters the patterns people learned under soviet leadership. The Soviet system did not promote this type of thinking. In fact people who thought this way oft
