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Article: Capitalism with a human face? (Vaclav Havel's philosophy and musings) (Our Queer World)
- Article from:
- The Humanist
- Article date:
- May 1, 1994
- Author:
CopyrightCOPYRIGHT 1994 American Humanist Association. This material is published under license from the publisher through the Gale Group, Farmington Hills, Michigan. All inquiries regarding rights should be directed to the Gale Group. (Hide copyright information)
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On New Year's Day, 1990, Vaclav Havel, the playwright and human, rights activist who had served time in jail under the previous communist regime, delivered his first major public address as president of Czechoslovakia:
My dear fellow citizens:
For forty years you heard from my predecessors on this day different variations on the same theme: how our country flourished, how many million tons of steel we produced, how happy we all were, how we trusted our government, and what bright perspectives were unfolding in front of us.
I assume you did not propose me for this office so that I, too, would lie to you.
Later in that speech, Havel ...