Two achievements of the Cato Institute about which I am most proud are our
conferences in China and the U.S.S.R. in 1988 and 1990, respectively. In
each case we held events devoted to free markets and individual liberty
for what I believe was the first time in the history of either Communist
regime. In Shanghai we brought Milton and Rose Friedman, George Gilder,
Jim Dorn, and the late economist Don Lavoie. What a great event that was!
The energy among our Chinese attendees was palpable as they followed
Milton around like he was a rock star. There were so many questions for
him he asked us to hold a press conference so he could answer them all at
once. We had to halt the conference as everyone wanted to listen to Uncle
Miltie. And Gilder got a huge round of applause as he ended his speech
with, "Let a billion flowers bloom!" With Tiananmen Square barely nine
months away, I really didn't appreciate how courageous the Chinese
speakers were.
The event in Moscow was also a stirring experience. We brought Nobel
laureate Jim Buchanan, Charles Murray, Gilder and Dorn, and the future
first winner of the Friedman Prize, the late Peter Bauer. Among the Soviet
speakers were Moscow mayor Gavriil Popov, St. Petersburg mayor Anatoly
Sobchak (the mentor to Russian president Vladimir Putin), and Grigory
Yavlinsky, still one of Russia's leading liberals. At an open forum
(again, probably a first) more than 900 people crowded into a Moscow State
University auditorium to hear the Cato speakers, including yours truly.
I had first gone to the Soviet Union in 1981 (and actually wrote an
article predicting the collapse of the Evil Empire). Not much had changed
by 1990. Communism had sucked the spirit out of the population. There were
no products on the shelves, no energy in the streets, and, worse, no sense
of hope. Well, perhaps a little hope, as I was able to present a bust of
F. A. Hayek to Yevgeny Primakov, the chairman of the Council of the Union
of the Supreme Soviet. The presentation took place at the Oktyabrskaya
Hotel, used exclusively by the Communist party Central Committee. We had
handed out Cato Institute pins to the hotel staff that had, in addition to
our logo, printed in Cyrillic, "private property" on the top and
"capitalism" on the bottom. That they were a hot item for the workers was
probably a good indication that the end of communism was at hand.
All of which brings us to the remarkable week Cato had in Russia at the
beginning of April. We had a two-day conference in Moscow attended by some
300 people, half of whom came from outside Russia (there were two dozen
nations represented) and about 250 people in St. Petersburg for a one-day
event. Ian Vasquez of Cato and Andrei Illarionov, the libertarian economic
adviser to Putin, put together an outstanding program. The theme was what
developing nations need to do to create prosperous civil societies. Milton
Friedman via video tape started each event off with an excellent
admonition that the Russians, Eastern Europeans, Chinese and Latin
Americans in the audience look to the institutions in place in the United
States and Great Britain one hundred years ago when the tremendous growth
of our societies were creating the wealth that today allows us to waste it
on unnecessary bureaucracies and regulations.
The many distinguished speakers included noted economist Al Harberger of
U.C.L.A.; Daniel Yergin, co-author of "The Commanding Heights: The Battle
for the World Economy"; José Piñera, world leader in the fight for private
Social Security accounts; Mart Laar, former Prime Minister of Estonia;
Ruth Richardson, former Finance Minister of New Zealand; and Illarionov.
But more impressive even than the conferences, at least to me, was the
energy and vitality in the streets of both Moscow and St. Petersburg. It
is hard to describe, but people had a bounce in their step and a smile on
their face. Economic activity was everywhere. Retail stores of every
variety were apparently flourishing and restaurants offered wonderful food
(in contrast to the forced diet of the 1990 conference). As Cato Club 200
member August Meyer, who has a major investment in a very successful
Costco-type chain of superstores in St. Petersburg put it, "It's like
watching civil society bloom before your very eyes."
For me the highlight of the trip was a four and one-half hour meeting with
President Putin at his residence outside Moscow. Nine of us from the
conference went to the meeting, which was covered by some 30 journalists.
Among those at the meeting were Piñera, Yergin, and Richardson. José of
course pushed Putin to simplify and radicalize the Social Security program
in Russia. Yergin emphasized how important it was to believe in the power
of ideas to change the world. Richardson urged the Russian president to
speed up liberal reforms. And I said it was important to have confidence
in the political and economic outcomes of a free society. I paraphrased
the great Taoist philosopher Lao Tse to the effect that truly strong
leaders leave the people alone. I also noted that to attract foreign
capital, which Putin must do to double the Russian economy in ten years,
as he's pledged, Russia must have the perception and reality of the rule
of law, uncorrupted courts, and protection of contracts.
Finally, I said another often overlooked aspect of attracting foreign
investment is a free press. True, a free press is first and foremost a
civil liberties issue. But foreign investors look to a free press in
developing nations as an institutional protection for their investments. I
suggested that the outside world is concerned that Putin's administration
has intimidated the media in Russia and that this would inhibit economic
growth. Overall, President Putin struck me as a man of serious
intelligence with a very strong presence (he may be short, but you know
he's in the room). President Putin said at one point, "You should come
back next year. I want to make Moscow the center of liberal debate in
Europe." A four and one-half hour meeting suggests he may well mean it.
The fact that he chose to spend such a long time with nine liberals from
around the world bodes well for the future of Russia.
Cordially,
Ed
Cato Institute • 1000 Massachusetts Avenue, N.W. • Washington D.C.
20001-5403
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"Let it not be said that no one cared, that no one objected once it's
realized that our liberties and wealth are in jeopardy. "
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-Hon. Ron Paul of Texas, 7/10/2003, "Neo-CONNED"
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http://www.house.gov/paul/congrec/congrec2003/cr071003.htm
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