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Underwriting Democracy: Encouraging Free Enterprise and Democratic Reform Among the Soviets in Eastern Europe
 
 
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Underwriting Democracy: Encouraging Free Enterprise and Democratic Reform Among the Soviets in Eastern Europe (Paperback)

by George Soros (Author) "I began my work directed at opening up closed societies about ten years ago ..." (more)
3.0 out of 5 stars See all reviews (1 customer review)
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Product details

  • Paperback: 288 pages
  • Publisher: PublicAffairs,U.S. (17 Mar 2004)
  • Language English
  • ISBN-10: 1586482270
  • ISBN-13: 978-1586482275
  • Product Dimensions: 20.9 x 14.1 x 1.9 cm
  • Average Customer Review: 3.0 out of 5 stars See all reviews (1 customer review)
  • Amazon.co.uk Sales Rank: 869,277 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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Product Description

Review
"Amazingly readable. ... Filled with gripping anecdotes. ... Soros used his theories to outsmart the stock market. Now he's trying to tell Washington: Get ahead of events. Only then can you mold them."--USA Today

Product Description
Now back in print: George Soros on funding and supporting the kind of grassroots democratic movements that helped bring down oppressive governments throughout the Communist bloc. George Soros has done more for open societies than any other private citizen in the world. In Underwriting Democracy he describes his experiences helping to bring about democratic change in Eastern Europe-experiences that are especially relevant now that our country has begun to intervene (though in an entirely different way than Soros) to create functioning democracies. Throughout the 1980s George Soros worked to identify and fund the growing political movements that caused the downfall of Eastern Europe's Communist governments. He established foundations, first in his native Hungary, and then in eight other countries, and used them to finance everything from the installation of previously forbidden copying machines in public libraries to the creation of experimental schools, clubs, and workshops for the support of dissidents. This unprecedented, and brilliant, financial and logistical support helped to bring down the communist regimes in peaceful revolutions across the continent. These are thrilling stories about facing down-and getting past-the Communist party powers in order to change these nations from the inside out.
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I began my work directed at opening up closed societies about ten years ago. Read the first page
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2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars George Soros Explains His Ideas about Fostering Democracy, 1 Jul 2004
By Professor Donald Mitchell "Jesus Makes Me a P... (Boston) - See all my reviews
(TOP 10 REVIEWER)      
Underwriting Democracy is a reprint of the book that first appeared in 1991 as the former Soviet Union was spiraling into oblivion under Gorbachev. In the book, international speculator George Soros (best known for his successful run on the Pound a number of years ago) describes his activities in setting up foundations to encourage democracy in formerly communist countries, his attempts to advise on how to create new democracies in these countries and his philosophy for how thought and action can change the "normal" course of human events (which is to run to harmful extremes).

I have known a number of people who have funded foundations in formerly communist countries and the materials here ring true with what others have told me. There was usually an attempt to subvert the money for other purposes, a bureaucracy had to be avoided and there were many difficulties in putting funds to work in useful ways. Anyone thinking about encouraging governmental reform through nonprofit organizations can learn useful lessons from reading the first part of the book.

Throughout the book, Mr. Soros makes informed guesses about what will follow in each of the former communist countries. I was fascinated to see how well he understood the social and economic forces at the time . . . and how frequently he called the future quite accurately. Fortunately, his worst pessimism about what could happen in the former Soviet Union did not come to pass.

His attempts to help direct reform in the Soviet Union as an advisor come across as very optimistic, determined and naive. But sometimes Don Quixote can produce results where no one else can. He can at least feel good that he tried to help.

The least satisfactory part of the book is his explanation of the theory of reflexivity, which he describes in detail in part three. I think I followed the argument. It could have been stated much more simply and better explained with more government-related examples. The financial market examples are very clear.

At the end, I found myself wondering what nations could be doing today to encourage democracy in other areas where it has not done well. A number of helpful solutions are contained in a new book, Soft Power, which I encourage you to consider.

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