--- Chris Doss <lookoverhere1 at yahoo.com> wrote:
>
> Doesn't this contradict your repeated assertion that
> the Soviet period was a net plus for Eastern Europe?
>
[WS:] No. It depends on the stage of thier development and modernization.
The Soviet era was a net plus for the less developed countries of Eastern Europe, like Poland, the Balkans, or perhaps Hungary because it offered them a quick path for modernization while getting rid of the vestiges of the feudal system and its clericalism. However, its track record for more developed countries of EE (like Chechoslovakia or GDR) is less clear, and I think it was a net loss at the end of the day.
Based on that I think it would be a great loss for the more advanced/modernized Western European countries.
Wojtek
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