Obstacles and solutions

The great war of ideas that has defined the twentieth century is finally over. The central ideals of democracy and market-based eco­nomic systems are now accepted in most of the world. At the most fundamental level, the idea that a self-appointed group of individuals can run a country is seen as folly. The transitions to democracy dur­ing the 1970's and 1980's, as well as those yet to come, are due to a variety of the quest for a higher quality of life by people everywhere. Although the recent trends outlined above highlight various ways that changes in political systems affect and are affected by economic fac­tors, they also rebut any simple notion that economic change alone causes the development of democracy. The current situation in China is one of the clearest examples of the complex interactions of poli­tics, economics, culture, and the demands for dignity and freedom by students, workers, and the emerging entrepreneurial groups.

Few people realize how complex it is to establish and run the institutional infrastructure essential to a modern society for it is through the constitutional, political, and governmental processes that the basic rules and structures that underlie market mechanisms are established.

Herman Bochi, the architect of Chile's economic transforma-

tion, has written that he needed overЂ00 trained people to introduce essential reforms in the governmental bureaucracy. Competent busi­ness managers, experienced entrepreneurs, accountants, bankers, and other professionals are also essential to a market economy. On the political side, well-trained and experienced legislators and politi­cal operatives at all levels, especially local government, are indis­pensable. Some of these values can be taught in the formal educa­tional systems; others require national leadership, such as the exem­plary, selfless role played by Vaclav Havel, the president of the Czech Republic.