Petőcz Kálmán (szerk.): National Populism and Slovak - Hungarian Relations in Slovakia 2006-2009 (Somorja, 2009)
Zsolt Gál: Argentina on the Danube - Populist Economic Policy as the Biggest Enemy of Sustainable Economic Growth
Zsolt Gál expected to plan, steer, regulate and control economy; own, subsidize, tax and fine enterprises; take care of citizens’ well-being ‘from cradle to coffin’ and ensure the highest possible equality of citizens, not only at the starting line (i.e. guaranteeing equal opportunities) but also at the finish line (i.e. levelling income and property). The national income should be redistributed as equitably as possible and there should not be excessive disparities between people’s income. The governments should not only guarantee citizens’ right to free and high-quality education, health service and social security but also employment, rights of employees and provision of social assistance, even to citizens who never contributed a single cent to the common budget. Lack of faith in market forces: Market economy leads to imbalances, unemployment and crises; since it is not the most advantageous economic model, it should be limited, regulated and controlled in order to eliminate its imperfections. Free market is a priori anti-social and morally wrong because it is based on chasing profits and cut-throat competition. Preference of state ownership: Government is a better owner than private entrepreneurs because it focuses on well-being of society and the ‘people’ as opposed to prosperity of owners. That is why state enterprises and institutions should never be privatized; this is particularly true about health service and education. Economic nationalism and protectionism: Most state property should remain in the national hands. International trade is an equation with a zero total, i.e. the profit of one party inevitably amounts to the loss of the other. Foreign products threaten our producers, which is why foreign producers’ access to our market should be limited while our producers should be privileged and supported. Foreign firms may exploit our workers, which is why we should not let in foreign investors and sell out our economy to them; in the most recent elections, the Slovak National Party came up with the following slogan: “We don’t covet someone else’s but we won’t give up ours”. The strength of these irrational visions, views and values directly ensues from socialization patterns and lingering world views people acquired during the communist regime as well as the fact that most ordinary people never had a chance to study modem economy and do not understand its modus operandi. Many surveys carried out by the Institute for Public Affairs have documented the continuously high prevalence of paternalism and egalitarianism n Slovakia. Paternalistic values were embraced by 65.4% of respondents in October 1997, 66.1% in January 1999 and 63.9% in March 2000; as far as 206
