and One View of a Wall
"My daughter's hamster (a pet white mouse) has food, water, shelter and even medical care, and a cage full of fun curly tubes. The hamster responds by constantly trying to chew his way to freedom. I think we all understand what freedom is, and it is not a gilded cage."
The above is from the posted article which is one view. The sometimes grinding Treadmiil we call life can create confining prisons on both sides of the ideological wall especially when it isn't greased properly. There is no denying that the free market is overcrowded with people confined by their own debt or their lack of means to move upward or even sideways. Still, personal choice holds the keys to many of these hard cases and for those with difficulty there is at least a possibility of a choice.
While driving past some residential projects yesterday in my late payment mini van, I was wondering how easily might these people move around, for instance if they wanted to move to another city to be closer to family or move to a part of the country that is more preferable to them. I imagine it is very dependent upon waiting lists and other bureaucratic matters that can take forever. As far as confinement goes we would logically have to rate that pretty high if that is the case.
I personally have gotten some differing opinions from people I have met that had the experience of living under communist rule. One woman now a clerk at an American Grocery store, when asked if she prefered our country gave a nod of indifference. Another Russian woman that I know who came here right after the wall fell said many ex communits find the market system daunting and sometimes chaotic because they grew up in and are used to the other life. I would have to say many americans find it daunting as well.
It seems some people would chew through walls for freedom... while others may be comfortable, or become complacent.
Either way, when trying to measure ideologies against one another we have to take stark looks at them and understand how and why human nature takes to aspects of either system.
Remembering the Fall of the Wall -
The Berlin Wall fell 20 years ago, marking the collapse of Soviet communism. The anniversary is an appropriate time for stocktaking and for seeking to answer a number of questions associated with this historic event, its aftermath, and its continued influence.
- "Twenty Years Later: Why the Berlin Wall Fell," by Swaminathan S. Anklesaria Aiyar
- "Reflections on Communism Twenty Years after the Fall of the Berlin Wall," by Paul Hollander
- Vladimir Bukovsky discusses the legacy of the Soviet Union
- "Subverting Socialism," Cato 2001 Annual Report
- "Why Socialism Collapsed in Eastern Europe," by Tom Palmer
- "Freedom and Prosperity in Central and Eastern Europe: 20 Years after the Collapse of Communism," Cato Conference
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