Logico-Computational Liberalism in the Light of Middle European Experience
A Comment on Stefan Karlsson's "The Future of the World Economy"

by Witold Marciszewski, Warsaw

I feel I should justify the use of the phrase "logico-computational
liberalism", which may seem somehow bizarre, and that is what I am going to
do below a bit later. Now it is in order explain a connexion between the
paper referred to, and what I call the Middle European experience. A hint to
the latter is found in the following passage by Karlsson.

"The one bright spot for Europe is the inclusion of the fairly free
   market oriented East European economies whose tax rates are very low not
   only compared to Western Europe but also compared to the United States.
   Not surprisingly this has led to very fast economic growth. And as the
   East European countries have become a part of the EU they will prop up
   overall growth. Moreover the increased tax competition from Eastern
   Europe has already started to prompt some West European countries to
   lower taxes, particularly corporate income taxes, which will boost their
   competitiveness. If the East European example prompts the West European
   countries to radically lower taxes and cut welfare spending then the
   outlook could be a lot brighter. But unfortunately that does not seem
   very likely." (This not the whole of the experience I am to here discuss,
   but is a convenient starting point.)


I heartily endorse the above statement, the more that I feel comfortable
because of my own belonging to that more reasonable section of EU. However
one more "if" has to be added to the above picture so that it truly
contribute to forecasting the future of world economy. The liberal spirit in
the new (Eastern) member countries of UE is a precarious phenomenon that may
disappear in a ghostlike manner. In Poland it has been enforced on the wave
of the euforia due to the regained freedom and the previosly unimaginable
abundance of consumer goods, both combined with Leszek Balcerowicz's, as the
chief refermer, determination; such a coincidence may have been a lucky
historical accident, not very likely to reappear.

Let me further dwell on the situation in Poland for things are similar to
some extent in its neighbour countries, and for the country's size which
makes it a major economic factor in the region in question.

In Poland, liberal thinking has feeble roots, partly because of the tens of
years of the socialist brain-washing, this being shared with the whole of
the former Soviet block, and partly because of more specific circumstances,
as the lack of middle-class traditions, and catholic-national ideologies and
sentiments.


The last factor mentioned has several consequences which do not favour
liberal thinking. (1) the social teaching of the Catholic Church shares main
features with social-democratic idea of "third way" which means a good deal
of state's patronage and intervention; such a teaching is actually performed
by bishops, theologians, religious media, etc. (2) Both in ecclesiastical
documents and in everyday dialect of faithful persons, the very term
"liberalism" is associated with an abuse of the human will, as refusing to
yield to proper authorities. (3) The nationalist mood, when directing
people's attention to the national history of sacrifices, moral exaltations
and venerable traditions, at the same time diverts the mind from less lofty
economic affairs that, moreover, have a cosmopolitic smell (one may imagine
something like that in other Eastern European nations having had a like kind
of history). (4) There is a brand of nationalist ideology which involves
panslavic and pro-Russian attitudes, traditionally accompanied by a mood of
collectivism: though this is true just of a scarce minority, some
politicians see their chances in exploring and reinforcing such sentiments.
Besides, like everywhere throughout the world, in Poland and other
East European countries, permanent opposition against liberalism is being
expressed by left-minded persons and groups.


This is just one side of the picture. On the other side, there are a lot of
skilled, efficient and full of enterpreneurial spirit people in East Europe
who are much stronger motivated for hard work and economic activities than
average cititizens of West European countries. Unfortunately, they form just
minorities in their countries, while politicians appeal to majorities which
are inclined to believe in populistic programs.






