CIVILIZATIONAL INCOMPETENCE - THE TRAP OF POSTCOMMUNIST SOCIETIES

Recent history has witnessed two huge surprises: first the collapse of communism, and then the unexpected slow-down of post-communist transi tion. The author claims that the secret of current tensions and drawba cks experienced by Eastern and Central European societies is to be sou ght iii the area of ''intangibles and imponderables'', the deep cultur al legacy inherited both from the distant pre-modern past of these soc ieties and the more recent syndrome of ''fake modernity'' imposed by r eal socialism. The vicious effect of these complex historical influenc es is described by the concept of ''civilizational incompetence'' comp rising deficiencies in: (a) entrepreneurial culture, (b) civic or poli tical culture, (c) discourse culture and (d) everyday culture. The age nts able to undermine and slowly eliminate civilizational incompetence must be sought among the elites most insulated from the impact of rea l socialism, and at the same time most exposed to the influence of mod ern, Western culture.