Even Wealthy are Crying
by Bozo Matic
ARKzin, Zagreb, Croatia, Issue 83, January 31 1997
Slandering of George Soros has become a sign of prestige in Croatia.
It is hard to find a state-controlled newspaper which hasn't contributed a
commentary on this topic, while the articles from the foreign papers which attack
Soros are collected with extraordinary attention. Those
articles are good if they present Soros as a modern monster,
a man who shook up half of the world with his stock market speculation, a man
who assists the development and spread of traffic in narcotics, a man who suffers
from unbounded egocentrism and likes to compare himself to the God and out of pure
boredom subverts regimes in Eastern Europe.
The most interesting article was published in The Sunday Telegraph and was quoted
with a lot of pleasure in the local press: "George Soros has stated that
capitalism and free market are the most serious threat to the advancement
of our planet; the man who destroyed the European currency exchange mechanism is now supposedly
determined to reject the instrument which allowed him to earn his billions."
The British, and the Americans are saying that Soros has announced with his article in the Atlantic Monthly a conversion equal to that of Saul to St. Paul, and are wondering what made him attack the very system in which he made his fortune.
Genetic Billionaires
I do not desire to interpret Soros' intentions, but it is a fact that every man,
especially someone as wealthy as Soros ("When I realized that
I had more money than I would ever be able to spend, I decided to aid the promotion
of the idea of the open society"), can, if intelligent enough, evaluate the way
in which he gained his wealth. Soros followed the rules of
lasseiz faire capitalism and used the unique advantages, his talent and courage (or madness).
Soros gained his wealth in a merciless system in which people are
valued according to how much they own, in which the homeless are numbered in
millions, in which huge social security funds are not enough to satisfy
enormous needs, in which some ostentatiously consume while in other parts
of the world people die from hunger. Those who have everything such a society
can offer will easily conclude that it is the best system of all, as Valentic [former Croatian prime minister, now a successful entrepreneur],
sitting in his large office, can say that entrepreneurship is almost genetically
determined and that some, simply, have a talent for it and some don't. As if anyone
can still be fooled with stories about countries who give a chance to everyone,
while the streets of the Western cities are full of poor people who are fighting
for survival, while those in the middle class are hoping to maybe somewhat
improve their lot and are afraid of loosing what they already have. The only
Soros' sin is that he attacked capitalism as a rich person. If he were poor, he
would have been an anarchist, an enemy; this way he has power which scares other
billionaires: they are concerned that Soros' criticism of capitalism may become
infectious.
Happy Society; What about the Country?
Of course, Soros' idea about the assistance in the establishment of open societies
all over the world may have different motives. It could be that this man with
a perverse mind simply hates, for personal reasons, Lukasenko, Milosevic,
Tudjman, Meciar and out of pure spite invests millions of dollars for
the printing of newspapers and books, education of physicians, refurbishment of
schools and kindergartens. Maybe there is a hidden evil message in those learning
toys donated by Soros, but it is the fact that he is spending
his own money unlike the above mentioned gentlemen who, while spinning the stories
of the western world (and spending almost no effort to get there), are spending
somebody else's money, funds "donated" by their fellow citizens, which they
appropriate according to their needs and spend for whatever they find appropriate.
It maybe true that Soros' vision of the happier society is morally unacceptable
and potentially extremely dangerous, but everyone should be allowed to pursue
their own passions. Some like auctions which are used to collect small contribution
from tax payers, while other prefer to give newspapers, computers, stipends, toys without
any preconditions. Those who want to accept assistance are free to do so, while
those who do not want assistance are free to reject it.
So, what is the problem, then? Well, the President's state of the nation address
gives an indication. The problem is that toys develop imagination, that a
computer can be used to access the Internet, that a newspaper can write outside
of the limits set by Tudjman for his state and nation. If it
wasn't for the foreign donations it would be much harder to publish an article which
states that the taxes are disgustingly high, that the unemployment rate of 18%
in such a small country is frightening, that the kuna is overpriced, that the
privatization was unsuccessful. Instead, the only remaining articles would be
about "increase in the growth of economy", "48.9 kilometers of roads and half-roads,
intense development of communication infrastructure", "growth in foreign investment",
"successfully continued process of privatization", "true state of social justice",
"pensions growing faster than salaries", "renewal of science infrastructure",
"support for creative writers and musicians", "lively publishing scene".
From the Letter to Corinthians
In that idyll special attention should be given to the enactment of the Law
about Sport, which is essential for our journey to Europe; also, on the side,
women should be returned to the medieval times by the limitation of their
right to abortion and expelled from any kind of Europe!
In a horrendously long address, full of all sorts of data about the increase and fall
of interest rates, number of phone lines, Croatia's credit rating and flawless
model for the privatization of the Croatian health services, which received a
special award, not a word was dedicated to 800,000 retired persons most of
whom cannot make end meet with their present pensions, nor to almost 300,000
unemployed [Croatia has about 4,700,000 inhabitants], nor to the extreme
increase in income disparity, nor to the protection of private property with various
private security armies, nor to the illegal plunder of the property owned by citizens of
Serb nationality (who were easily and generously proclaimed to be voluntary exiles;
therefore let them be, if they chose to leave), nor to the discrimination in the
privatization of apartments, not to the complaints of publishers and artists who
cannot live from decorations, nor to the fear from police, nor to the
persecution of journalists, nor to the campaign against the president of the
Supreme Court. The President also chose to ignore the recent reduction in
the state assistance to women on pregnancy leave, as well as the increase in
the number of infanticides, which are the consequence of the psycho-social
problems in the society, and the greedy plunder of the citizens through innumerable
contributions, taxes and state imposed fees.
Small Country, Great for Plunder
In his pre-election address to the nation, the President ignored all the warnings
about crime, deficiencies in the legal system, wrong distribution in the economy,
the crisis of morality brought about by the new system which allowed new millionaires
without scruples to amass huge wealth overnight. There is only one Croatia for the President: the Croatia that he
sees, the country about which he keeps receiving good data. Croatia, an idyllic
small country with absolutely no connections with its neighbors and far away
from any (blah!) integration; a country with cute HDZ party in power, the party
which friendly extends a helping hand to other parties in order to introduce
diversity to the society. The President probably likes Gloria
[a magazine]. In Gloria we can see pictures of young Croatian women
in front of their sporty cars, young Croatian men in front of their castles,
successful men in front of overflowing shop windows, or in exotic restaurants.
In Gloria one can only find articles about the Bobans, Todorics,
Gucics, Sovagovics, Glumicics...[successful sportsmen, entrepreneurs and artists]
Could one find a better illustration of the idyll in which the president's family
lives than the reply by [Tudman's daughter] Nevenka Tudman to
the question by the lawyer Alaburic about how she obtained
retail space [an office?] in the Ministry of Defense building [Nevenka Tudman sued Feral
Tribune for alleging that she received special treatment in obtaining
that retail space from the Ministry of Defense]: "Anyone could have seen that that
retail space was empty. I saw it, went to the Ministry of Defense and asked about
the space and, hence, was awarded the space", more or less said Seka.
Could there be anything simpler? I doubt it. The retail space is again available;
I dare you to try and go to the Ministry of Defense; I bet you'll be outside very
soon. With the contract? I doubt it.
C.C. Capwell
The President, whose family has been so lucky, whose friends and acquaintances
also do not complain, probably thinks that everyone's grandchildren own banks,
sons restaurants, daughters stores, wives luxury offices for humanitarian work.
Unlike Soros, who has, perhaps, had his eyes opened by his wealth
(or had bad conscience, or wished some things were different), it seems that wealth
closed the eyes of the President. In his address to the nation he refused to
accept the reality. According to him the reality can only be good and even
better in the future.
translated on 7/25/97
