A Quarter Century of 'Free Markets and Free People'
April 16, 2008
The philosophy of this page is clear. We are for the individual and stand against infringements on freedom. We put our trust in the industriousness and ingenuity of people left to do their own thing, unencumbered by overreaching regulations or other government interventions into the free economy.
-- "The Editorial Page," editorial, Jan. 31, 1983
Attitudes toward the U.S. in elite European circles range from a feeling of superiority to plain anti-Americanism. At best, we see Americans as overgrown children who have not yet managed to separate from mother Europe. At worst, they are seen as ugly imperialists. This America of today is no longer a part of our Western Atlantic world. But we play the ostrich, hoping that Americans will be more reasonable next time and elect a more civilized president.
-- "How Europeans Can Begin a Rediscovery of America," by Guy Sorman, Jan. 31, 1983
The spectacular nuclear accident at Chernobyl probably tells us less about nuclear power than it does about the Soviet Union. . . . The Soviets are trying to push their economy through bureaucratic brute force, resisting the lessons of decentralized market economies. One of the effects is that they take large risks, not putting the same value on civilian lives or on public opinion as does the democratic West.
-- "The Russian Syndrome," editorial, April 30, 1986
As the 6 a.m. express for Gdansk prepares to depart, mounds of baggage line the platform. Potatoes and bread peek out of the pockets of suitcases – in this uncertain economy, Poles choose to carry their dinner with them. . . . Foreign reporters fill the dining car, and an audience of amused Poles listens as they practice pronouncing the name of the prime minister-designate: "mah-zo-VYET-ski." By the end of the three-hour trip some of us have opted for a nickname that's easier to enunciate: "Maz."
"God Save Poland" and "God Save Your Soul" reads a cross outside Lech Walesa's home church, St. Brygida's, a friendly brick structure. . . .Suddenly the crowd gets nervous. Maz is arriving in a Peugeot. Bells ring as Poles crowd into the church. . . .Outside after Mass, a now-exhausted Maz is pushed forward to the front of a balcony that has reporters and local children clinging to its rails. An older lady in a knit-pink outfit behind me lectures a friend, "In democracy you can do what you want."
-- "Seven Days in a New Democracy," by Amity Shlaes, Aug. 30, 1989
The notion of moral equivalence between American and Soviet motives has had a corrosive effect on Western political thinking in recent years. Communism's funeral in Berlin should mark the end of that. No one is fleeing east, not even out of curiosity.
-- "Berlin: Communism's Funeral," editorial, Nov. 13, 1989
Thatcher's was a distinctively British form of greatness, and she will no doubt remain the touchstone of British politics for decades to come. Under her leadership, home ownership and share ownership have been extended, once-moribund industries have been privatized, taxes are less likely to stifle initiative, unions have had to face economic reality, communism has been faced down, the bureaucracy has come under better management. . . . The next Conservative leader may or may not succeed in extending this record, but there will never be another Thatcher.
-- "A Woman of Some Importance," editorial, Nov. 23, 1990
The significance of what the world just watched in Moscow is immense. It is in all likelihood the most important thing that has happened in the world since 1945. . . .The collapse of Soviet Communist Party rule and the news pouring in from the 15 republics strongly suggests that, as with the Berlin Wall, the symbol and reality of oppression inside the Soviet Union is rubble.
-- "A New Era," editorial, Aug. 27, 1991
The [Common Agricultural Policy] stands out among a plethora of questionable European Commission programs as the most anachronistic, and expensive, of all . . . . The CAP endures in part because it has made farmers a dependent class and because it is a powerful redistribution mechanism in the hands of the European Commission, giving it political muscle.
-- "Fresh Thoughts on Farming," editorial, May 4, 1994
In capturing Srebrenica, the U.N.'s first safe zone, Serbian forces orchestrated the worst humiliation of the United Nations and NATO in the sordid history of this war. . . . Unwilling to enforce its resolutions and unable to protect its own forces or the tens of thousands of Bosnians depending on it, the U.N. operation in Bosnia, as it is now conducted, has lost all purpose. The inevitable choice, it appears, will be fight or flight.
-- "Losing Bosnia," editorial, July 13, 1995
[A] well-run monetary union encompassing most of the members of the EU today, and most of Europe in the future, will be of enormous benefit to the people of Europe and also to the people of the rest of the world, including the U.S. Members of the EMU will get not just a currency on a par with the dollar and the right to a share in international seigniorage but also greater influence in the running of the international monetary system. The U.S. will get a needed relief from the eventually debilitating overuse of the dollar as an international currency, a single-currency continent that vastly simplifies trade and investment, and a strong partner in Europe with an equal stake in constructing an international monetary system suitable for the 21st century.
-- "Great Expectations for the Euro -- Part II," by Robert Mundell, March 25, 1998
The great proliferation of peace "processes" around the world has produced more false starts than enduring handshakes. But for once, it's hard to begrudge the exuberance following Friday's accord in Northern Ireland. The province's nationalist and unionist leaders are sworn to mutually exclusive goals, tied to fundamentalist paramilitaries and have long considered any compromise tantamount to defeat. Yet they are now drawing plans to sit together in an elected assembly.
-- "Good Friday in Ulster," editorial, April 14, 1998
While other post-Soviet states were sticking their toes in the reform pool, Estonia took a plunge. The government set up a currency board and a flat tax, abolished all tariff and non-tariff trade barriers and privatized everything in sight. In its latest innovation, a plan to scrap corporate taxation, Estonia's current coalition government has displayed a clarity of thinking on economic policy that sets a new standard in Europe.
-- "Estonia's Bright Idea," editorial, Aug. 25, 1999
Vladimir Putin has had every advantage a new president could wish for. His public-approval rating reminds us of the euphoric early days of the Yeltsin Kremlin. . . . And yet this huge credit was wasted. President Putin's KGB roots have sadly informed a style of governance that is neither reformist nor particularly democratic.
-- "The Putin Doctrine," by Garry Kasparov, Jan. 4, 2001
The combination of weapons of mass destruction and terrorism is a threat of incalculable consequences. It is one at which all of us should feel concerned. Resolution 1441 is Saddam Hussein's last chance to disarm using peaceful means. The opportunity to avoid greater confrontation rests with him.
-- "Europe and America Must Stand United," by José María Aznar, José Manuel Durao Barroso, Silvio Berlusconi, Tony Blair, Vaclav Havel, Peter Medgyessy, Leszek Miller and Anders Fogh Rasmussen, Jan. 30, 2003
The list, a copy of which has been seen by the Journal's editorial page, is in spreadsheet format and details (in Arabic) individuals, companies and organizations, grouped by country, who oil ministry and Iraqi Governing Council officials believe received vouchers from the Iraqi government for the purchase of oil under the oil-for-food program. . . . [It] reads like an official registry of Friends of Saddam across some 50 countries.
-- "Investigate the U.N.'s Books," by Thérèse Raphael, Feb. 9, 2004
Terrorism has been on peoples' mind, put there by ETA and Spain's support for the war in Iraq. The wail of sirens heard [in Madrid] around 7:30 in the morning yesterday made that insecurity real. . . . Prime Minister José María Aznar gave shape to Spain's own vision of Europe, telling France to take a hike over his support for America in Iraq. But that new assertiveness, as much as Spanish democracy, is fairly recent. Will this terrorist attack undermine Spanish confidence and turn the country back on itself? One hopes not -- fervently.
-- "A Grim Day for the 'New Spain,'" by Matthew Kaminski, March 12, 2004
When talking about Ronald Reagan, I have to be personal. We in Poland took him so personally. Why? Because we owe him our liberty. This can't be said often enough by people who lived under oppression for half a century.
-- "The Good Cowboy," by Lech Walesa, June 11, 2004
This year Europe has witnessed two fundamental political changes: In the first half of the year, the enlargement of the European Union to include eight countries from the old Soviet bloc, and in the second -- the presidential elections in Ukraine. What will happen in my country after the election will not only impact Ukraine's future, but, to a great extent, the future of Europe and Russia.
-- "A Peoples' Revolution," by Viktor Yushchenko, Dec. 3, 2004
Neither Turkey nor Ukraine, nor the Balkans, are ready to become EU members tomorrow. But serious people should not let weak politicians . . . get away with spurious metaphysical arguments about why this or that country doesn't belong in a club of free democracies. After all, the West is now an idea, not a place.
-- "East and West," editorial, Dec. 16, 2004
The death of John Paul II removes from the world a great force for order and rectitude. He was often presented as a conservative, especially by liberal critics within the church. But this was a misreading of his character and indeed of his record. This great pontiff was essentially a defender, promoter, protector and enhancer of life: life in all its forms, as God created them, but especially human life.
-- "The Philosopher Pope," by Paul Johnson, April 4, 2005
In itself the constitution was not a huge loss. The best guess is that the EU will go on pretty much as it is now, a developing economic union of 25 nation-states, with the prospect of adding new members as political imperatives dictate. . . . The EU states will also prosper because of the very capitalism that the left fears, for the simple reason that it works. . . . The French have voted "non" to Europe, but the prevailing mood is "yes."
-- "Europe's Printemps of Discontent," by George Melloan, May 31, 2005
Microsoft waved the white flag this week by dropping all appeals of the European Union's 2004 ruling against the software giant. Such defeats are a familiar sight, and not only in antitrust. Europe writes the rules for global business today across the board -- unapologetically to the benefit of its own industry.
-- "Regulatory Imperialism," editorial, Oct. 26, 2007
The proliferation of small states since the fall of communism has made Europe more stable and democratic, from Estonia to Macedonia. A sovereign Kosovo, which follows the entry of even tinier Montenegro into the club of nations, can be a force for good in the region and the wider Europe.
-- "The Birth of Kosovo," editorial, Feb. 18, 2008
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