Communism to Social Democracy & Economic Repurcussions of the EU

These were the main topics discussed during the speech by Czech Republic President Vaclav Klaus yesterday. He described how the surge of political activism came about quickly once communism fell in Czechoslovakia, but that setting economic and monetary policy was an extremely difficult task in the transition. Maintaining calm during a period with currency devaluation and skyrocketing inflation was a significant challenge. Privatizing companies, educating consumers, and fostering entrepreneurship in a previously communist state took time and effort.

He also went on to vocalize his dissatisfaction with the EU and how it bought about severe economic limitations between its constituents and the rest of the world. While the recent trend of various economies has been liberalization and privatization, he believes that the EU has taken a step backward by supranationalizing and integrating the economies of the European countries.

Describing the U of C as Klaus' "intellectual home" (Klaus being a big fan of free markets and Milton Friedman), both Dean Snyder and Gary Becker echoed some of these thoughts. The place was teeming with secret service agents, and the classroom was packed, with other U of C students and Czech nationals in attendance. President Klaus' speech was a good one, but more of his passion and personality came through when the audience asked him questions about his experience. At one point, he got very excited when describing the short-term effects of the economic changes and grabbed a marker to draw an inflation curve on the white board... only at Chicago ;)