I refer, of course, to the accelerating, revolutionary implosion of socialism- communism throughout the world. That is, to the freedom revolution. Political positions of leading actors change radically, almost from month to month. In Poland, General Jaruzel-ski, only a few years ago the hated symbol of repression, threatens to resign unless his colleagues in the communist government accede to free elections and to the pact with Solidarity. On the other hand, in China, Deng Hsiao-ping, the architect of market reform ten years ago, became the mass murderer of unarmed Chinese people because he refuses to add personal and political freedom to economic reform, to add glasnost to this perestroika.
Every day there is news that inspires and amazes.
The KGB leader humbly promises to shape up. In Hungary, numerous political parties spring up, most of them angrily rejecting the very concept of socialism. We are also seeing the complete vindication of the point that Hayek shook the world with in the Road to Serfdom. Writing during World War II when socialism seemed inevitable everywhere, Hayek warned that, in the long run, political and economic freedom go hand in hand. A socialist economy will inevitably be dictatorial.