socialmedian: How capitalism let Hungary down

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How capitalism let Hungary down | Gyula Hegyi

Source: The Guardian

Nov 06, 2009

Summary

Disillusionment with post-1989 life has tempted some to turn against democracy, not just neoliberal economics

When I was a child in the 1960s, there was a photo in my history book. "Man market in the 1930s" was its title. Younger and older men were standing on a marketplace in their poor clothes, waiting for a richer man who would hire them for a day's labour. This photo reminded me of the pictures of the slave markets in the American South a century ago.

In the 60s life was restricted but secure in socialist Hungary. There was full employment in the country, everybody had a job and accommodation, and nobody was forced to sell his muscle at a market like this. There were many sad photos in our school history book, images of executions, death camps and destruction in war. But this photo from the prewar, capitalist system with its silent sadness frustrated me the most. I almost cried thinking about those poor men, standing for hours in the marketplace, competing with each other for a lousy dime, offering the capacity of their hard work for some fat exploiters.

The

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