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SławomirDębski
formaintainingorderandstability,theytookstepsthatthrewthesystem
intosharpanddeepimbalance.”8
WhatKindofPeopleDoWeThinkWeAre?
PoliticsbasedonthevisionofEuropewholeandfreehasprovedto
beoneofhistoryismosteffectiveinstrumentsforspreadingfreedom
andprosperity.Today,thestatesofCentralEuropeconstitutethefastest-
developingpartofthecontinent.AslongasRussiawillcontinuetouseits
strengthtocontaindemocracyfromexpandingandcurbfreedomonthe
entirecontinent,however,Europeansecurityandprosperitywillremain
injeopardy.ThisisespeciallytruetodayasEuropefindsitselfinamore
difficultsituationthanin1919or1989.
Americanleadershipinthefreeworldisnotonlyweaker,itmustalso
competewithautocraticdevelopmentalmodelsinEurope—Russia—as
wellasinAsia.China,thelargestautocraticpowerintheworld,iscompeting
withthedemocraticworldnotonlyeconomicallybutalsoideologically.The
West,whichtransgressedanideologicaldemobilisationafter1989,made
astrategicerrorbyacceptingtheChinesedevelopmental“onestate,two
systems”modelasgoodenoughtoacceptChinaintotheWTO.Meanwhile,
oneofChinaissystemsisbasedonfreedom,theotheronunfreedom.
Asynthesisofbothsystemsisnotpossiblesinceauthoritarianism,
supportedbythepowerofthestate,willalwaysdominateoverfreedom
devoidofsuchsupport.Inthisway,China,byassumingtobeafreemarket
economy,gainsanadvantageoverthefreeworld.Moreover,theyare
exportingtheirdevelopmentalmodelabroad.
Oneofthemostimportantlessonsfromthefallofcommunismwasthe
empiricalexperienceofmillionsthatshowedhowdemocracyandthefree
marketdeterminesuccessfuldevelopmentandprosperity.Byaccepting
theChinese“onestate,twosystems”approach,theWestseriously
weakenedthestrengthofitslesson.Today,theautocraticdevelopmental
model,supportedbyChinaandRussia,isbecomingmoreandmorepopular
notonlyamongdevelopingstatesbutalsoamongdemocraticelitesin
manycountries.Tosuccessfullycounterthistrend,theWestmustonce
