Chris Hann

Hopes of a smooth transition from ‘goulash communism’ to market economies have long since been dashed by the ‘post-Soviet mafia-state’ in Hungary. But to what extent are liberal intellectuals themselves responsible, through their elitist disdain for the rest of the population, for the decline of democracy in Hungary?

A common currency should remain a central component of international co-operation and redistribution, argues Chris Hann. But European debates on the compatibility of capitalism and democracy must be radically reframed if the currency, and the structures underpinning it, are to succeed.