The Current Discussion: Does the crisis on Wall Street mean that the American style of capitalism is no longer the model for the world?

Here in Hungary, modern capitalism began in 1990. An earlier capitalist period in the early 20th century ended when the Soviet Union forcibly introduced socialism.

American-style capitalism was not a useful model during that first period; what we had was closer to slightly industrialized feudalism. After all, America was really far away, across a continent and then an ocean; how could we aspire to its ideals? When the modern period began the American style was no model, either; the country was too poor to even hope to achieve a similar kind of success. Now, believe it or not, the gap between our two economic system is even wider.

For small banks in other parts of the world, news of Wall Street companies in crisis inspires more of a feeling of gloating. Small banks and other financial institutions live in a permanent danger of insolvency or bankruptcy; to see the big ones in trouble is a comforting sensation.

It's not the American model of capitalism that we envy here; it's American democracy. That's the model to which our young and fragile democracy should aspire.

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