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Article: Poland's good old days (now).
- Article from:
- National Review
- Article date:
- December 22, 1989
- Author:
CopyrightCOPYRIGHT 1989 National Review, Inc. 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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WARSAW-It was .assumed until recently, with the wishful exaggeration understandable under the circumstances, that, at least in Eastern Europe, Communism's last gasp would be greeted with wild enthusiasm, dancing in the streets, and the shatter of vodka glasses on the floor. The reality has already sobered everybody up. Getting rid of Communism is proving not like casting off chains and suddenly walking free again but rather like dropping some weight out of a heavy rucksack on a long slog toward elusive highlands. The Poles and Hungarians are finding that, even with Western help, it will be many years yet before their inefficient economies, mortgaged to the hilt, might ...