I wanted to create a Democracy, but the proof that I had not thought it through is that I thought Capitalism could reform itself and everything such as self-government by workers could be accomplished later on. But then it appeared to be too late. This is proof of my own blindness.
The problem of Communism is that centralization is the central dictatorship and there is no way to change it. Capitalism is the dictatorship of the rich. I don’t know what to do. Central control can’t stop it. The one thing I regret is participating in the first government [post-communist]. My participation helped people accept capitalism.
I thought capitalism was self-reforming. It’s not. It’s like Russia- controlled by only a small group because capitalism needs capital. Here now [in Poland] half the population is on the edge of hunger and the other half feels successful.
Jacek Kuron, reflecting upon 1968 in an interview in 2001
