# Hme0401@1 : My Common Publicistic Works : Now, Look Here! (Publicistics) -- Part One -- For Journals : First Third : 2001 - 2017 : Mirski-Bis

Христо Мирский

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Keywords: publicistics, Bulgaria, serious works, independently, untraditionally, own ideas, in English.

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====>*_NOW, LOOK HERE!_*


===>*_(Publicistics -- Part 1)_*


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-->[ There is no idea about the cover, because in this book are gathered great variety of different journalistic materials, it is not a work of fiction, and such books are usually not illustrated. ]


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==>*_Copyright Chris MYRSKI, 2001 - 2017_*


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-->*_-- -- -- -- --_*


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===>*_CONTENTS (of the whole book/*)_*


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-->[ * Here the whole book is divided in 4 Books or parts and has 9 chapters or E-books, where the papers are 69. ]


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-->*_In the first Part_*:


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-->Foreword


-->ººº[ Introduction (2001) ]


-->I. For Journals


-->ººº[ These are more serious materials, yet the division is not strict. ]


-->ºººEssay on the common sense


-->ºººººº[ This is mine first publicistic material in the spirit of perestroika which is left here with retrospective purpose. (1989) ]


-->ºººAbout the turn to the left


-->ºººººº[ This paper explains popularly the idea of the swinging of pendulum applied in the sphere of political orientation of a given country. (1995 ?) ]


-->ºººHow much has to win a company in order to have /_no_/ gain?


-->ºººººº[ This paper proves the murderous impact of high inflation (in its time) over Bulgarian small companies. (1996) ]


-->ºººOur people again hoarded goods by higher prices


-->ºººººº[ The paper contains judgements about the market on the example of Bulgaria from the end of last century. (1996) ]


-->ºººToo good is not good!


-->ºººººº[ The paper looks at the drawbacks of our botched (as everything by us) introduction of Money Board in the very end of last century; many of them were settled with the time, but nevertheless it is still actual. (1997) ]


-->ºººAre we free, or on the contrary?


-->ºººººº[ This material is dedicated to the enslavement of Bulgarian people /_with the coming of democracy_/, or more precisely: is it so, why, and is there a way out of the situation (1997) ]


-->ºººPolitical gratitude


-->ºººººº[ This is sharp criticism of Bulgarian UDF, Union of Democratic Forces, as chief political cause for the botched transition to democracy. (1998) ]


-->ºººNeo-Malthusianism, or rational judgment


-->ºººººº[ This paper throws new light on neo-Malthusianism, and looks more close on the question with overpopulation and how to fight with it. (1998) ]


-->ºººMyths about democracy


-->ºººººº[ This paper lays bare a /_dozen_/ of widely used myths about democracy and, with this, is useful practically for everybody, but some things duplicate other materials of the author. (1998) ]


-->ºººAbout the ownership and its future


-->ºººººº[ This paper take unprejudiced, although from left-wing positions, view on the question with property used for exploitation of labour of the others, as well also the necessary measures which have to be taken in order to reach in the future some /_reasonable_/ solution of this main economical problem of the society. (2001) ]


-->ºººJust /_in_/justice


-->ºººººº[ This material discusses many drawbacks of the system of justice, together with two concrete scientifically motivated (according to the author) propositions: 1) about /_unification of assessment of damages and guilt_/, and 2) one entirely new idea for /_personal modification of punishments_/. The goal is to have objective, simplified and rightful justice. The material is intended first of all for the thoughtful masses, because the jurists alone will not want to cut the branch on which they are sitting. (2001) ]


-->ºººIn ovo e veritas


-->ºººººº[ The paper evolves one original idea about using of the ... /_egg_/ as universal money unit! There are given concrete tables for Bulgaria for several years, as well also many comments about out economical paradoxes. The idea is quite original to make the material interesting for everybody. (2001 /2008) ]


-->ºººOh, 'manci, 'manci -pation!


-->ºººººº[ The paper discusses a variety of drawbacks of unnecessary movement for emancipation of the women, pointing by this at a big number of /_unwished_/ by the women consequences of this current foolishness of the half of humanity. (2002) ]


-->ºººWhat we want to tell the world?


-->ºººººº[ This is quite critical paper, which takes in focus Bulgarian symbols, the spirit of the Bulgarian, and a heap of not rightly understood ideas from our newest history. It is written from the standpoint of a thoughtful person, and because the behaviour of the nations as whole is wide away from the reasonable, then this material may look to some readers as pretty daring and insolent, but many of the judgements exceed the national borders and are applicable also to other nations. (2003) ]


-->ºººIn Bulgaria everything is quiet


-->ºººººº[ This paper is of the /_new_/ ones and observes the political situation in Bulgaria in the end of 2012, which year was characterized with long-lasting lethargy. It is analyzed the stabilization in political life, the centrists parties, the left-wing ones, the leading then right-wing party, and what we have to do (but we don't do it) in order to better the things. (2012) ]


-->ºººPolitical parties in Bulgaria


-->ºººººº[ This is my analysis of political parties in Bulgaria in the year 2012. ]


-->ºººAbout the degradation of morality


-->ºººººº[ This paper discusses, yet from general or philosophical point of view, the quite painful for more older people question about the degradation of morality, is it so, really, why it has happened so, to what this leads, and what can be expected in the future. (2012) ]


-->ºººIs it possible moderate communism in Bulgaria?


-->ºººººº[ Here is explained my viewpoint at the moderate communism, backed up by some rough calculations for Bulgaria. In the beginning is talked about what is this, then what kind of money are necessary for the purpose, and at the end is how this can be realized. (2012) ]


-->ºººEssay on the common sense -- II


-->ºººººº[ This becomes my last publisictic material in this section, which makes complete revision of my first perestroika-stile material, only that this time it goes about the democratic society. The necessity of this material has ripened because the democracy, as a matter of fact, is based on the lack of common sense by the people (with what I do /_not_/ stand that it is badly based, yet it is good to remind also the true situation). (2015) ]


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-->In the second Part:


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-->II. For Newspapers


-->ººº[ These are as if more palatable for the common readers materials, which /_can_/ be met -- yet usually are not -- in newspapers. ]


-->ºººThe truth about Bulgaria


-->ºººººº[ This piece declares quite succinct the truth about Bulgaria, citing five arguments in support of the thesis. (1994) ]


-->ºººAbout the market and the Bulgarian


-->ºººººº[ Here are explained popularly several important peculiarities of the free market, which, as it turns, are not quite clear to the Bulgarians (at least at the dawn of market economy, but nowadays, too). (1994 /1998) ]


-->ºººFive years of devastation


-->ºººººº[ The material resumes the mournful result of first five years on the way to democracy in Bulgaria, related only with destroying of the old but without creating of whatever new. (1994) ]


-->ºººDo you want to lose your 13th pension?


-->ºººººº[ This material illustrates some simple methods for /_dividing of monetary investments_/ in several banks with the purpose for receiving of higher interests in conditions of high inflation; it is true that the prices are now pretty old and originate from Bulgaria, yet it is possible to get some orientation if one wishes, because the ideas remain just the same. (1995 ?) ]


-->ºººTime to draw conclusions


-->ºººººº[ Here is treated the question of the importance of having a center in the political life in Bulgaria and about its lack by us, in 1996, as well also nowadays. (1996 ?) ]


-->ºººAbout the elections and the demos


-->ºººººº[ This material is dedicated to the unreasonability of democratic choice, is it so, and how to cope with it. In other words, could there exist "reasonability in the unreasonability", and in what this is expressed? (1996) ]


-->ºººRequiem for one coalition


-->ºººººº[ This is requiem for the notorious Bulgarian Union of Democratic Forces, UDF, which now more then a dozen of years exists only in order to remind the Bulgarians about our hasty, incompetent, and botched transition to democracy, thanks to which we are standing more than 20 years now in the tail, regarding the living standard, from all former socialist countries. It is pretty old, but if the things are observed from a reasonable standpoint, how I think that approach the matters as a rule, the things don't grow old. (1996 ?) ]


-->ºººSomething more about democracy


-->ºººººº[ Here it goes about the inefficiency of democracy, when it came to power, about the dictatorial moments in it, about movement to the right or the left, and other questions. These are still old things, but under similar circumstances they will again turn actual. (1996) ]


-->ºººWhat we have messed with the Currency Board


-->ºººººº[ The object of discussion here is clear. The material is again old and many things have now settled themselves, but this does not mean that I was not right in whatever in those times, and generally. (1998) ]


-->ºººConvergence, what is this?


-->ºººººº[ This material is dedicated to much acclaimed in its time theory about convergence of capitalism with the communism, which, in principle, turned to be right, yet with some peculiar moments, and my view, as usually, is new and untraditional (i.e. it does not fully correspond to either one of the former extremities). (1998) ]


-->ºººWhy the communism has fallen down?


-->ºººººº[ Here we approach the falling of socialism from an economic point of view, and more precisely in the sense of tying of the members of society in monetary aspect, via savings and loans. (1998) ]


-->ºººAnd where are we?


-->ºººººº[ Here is given one comparison from the year 1998 about the economic and other situation in Bulgaria (according data from foreign journals, yet in my parsing), with other ex-communist countries, that is up to date even nowadays, when we are the poorest of all in the United Europe. (1998) ]


-->ºººPredictions for the year 1999


-->ºººººº[ This paper is a pre-New Year prognosis of the economic and political situation in Bulgaria on the eve of the last century. Like the majority of my things it is actual in broad lines to this day. (1998) ]


-->ºººCan the Bulgarian pay 50 % taxes?


-->ºººººº[ This material takes in focus the question with the percentage of taxes in Bulgaria, which, although as usually around the world, but is not at all liked by us; the money have now become older, but the situation is the same, especially in connection with our poverty. (1999) ]


-->ºººReflections on the eve of the "holiday"


-->ºººººº[ This material is dedicated to the "traditional" for us day of homosexuals (2nd of Feb) and discusses questions related with them. (1999) ]


-->ºººAbout democracy and melioration


-->ºººººº[ This material looks at some of the drawbacks of democracy based on the parallel with the treatment of soil, where will it be /_meglio_/ ('meljo', or /_migliore_/) in Italian, i.e.better, depends on the very nation. (1999) ]


-->ºººAbout democratic phenomenon


-->ºººººº[ This is continuation of the previous material about the democracy, about the related with it delusions, and how we are to look at it. (1999) ]


-->ºººA step forward and two back


-->ºººººº[ This paper discusses the introduction of Money Board in Bulgaria in its time and it is aged with more than a dozen of years; nonetheless the things stated there are on the whole actual. (1999) ]


-->ºººAgain sharp turn


-->ºººººº[ The material dwells on the coming to power more than a dozen of years ago of King's party in Bulgaria, though it has long since left the stage. (2001 ) ]


-->ºººOh God, what we eat!


-->ºººººº[ Here, as one can well guess, it goes about the unnatural food and how to fight with this. This now is a new material. (2012) ]


-->ºººWhy the cocks crow early morning?


-->ºººººº[ This material proposes some philosophical, etymological, and of other kind, /_un_/professional observations over the birds. (2012 ) ]


-->ºººDoes global warming exist?


-->ºººººº[ When I pose in this way the question, then to all appearance I doubt in this. My view, which I will express in this material, is in this, that there is not so much global warming, as is /_global stirring_/ of the weather. We shall see is it so, in what this is expressed, and what can be done in order to eliminate it, if we want this. (2012) ]


-->ºººThe fatal 2013 year in Bulgaria


-->ºººººº[ This material discusses political and economic situation in Bulgaria in the beginning of fatal 13th year. (2013) ]


-->ºººWhy we vote, when we ... don't vote?


-->ºººººº[ This paper is about this, who took part in the elections in Bulgaria in 2013 godu, who whom from the politicians likes or hates, and, generally, about this how the things turned out there. (2013) ]


-->ºººAbout the fascism from common sense positions


-->ºººººº[ This is untraditional look at the contemporary fascism in Bulgaria, and everywhere, from the viewpoint of the reason, as well also about this how to oppose it. (2013) ]


-->ºººAbout the Social Ministry in Bulgaria


-->ºººººº[ Here is discussed the question about necessity and the main functions of eventual Social Ministry in Bulgaria (as the poorest country in European Community) and is shown that the expressed here ideas can be used in whatever country. (2013) ]


-->ºººHow to improve democratic protests?


-->ºººººº[ This material takes in focus the question with our inability to correctly conduct democratic protests, so that the population was able to protest, and this helped the governing; there are proposed, naturally, also ways for solving of this very important question, that are valid for all countries. (2014) ]


-->ºººRead Chris Myrski (in the sense of political reviews)


-->ºººººº[ This paper is dedicated to the political situation in Bulgaria in 2014 and the conducted then elections. There are made interesting and original conclusions, and in the end are given some expert rules for prognosticating of the political situation in Bulgaria, yet not only. (2014) ]


-->ºººThoughts about Ukraine


-->ºººººº[ This material is dedicated to the long-lasting confrontation of Ukraine and Russia, why this is bad, and what the Ukrainians have first of all to do. The approach is not typical, these are thoughts, based on the understanding of the situation by the author, yet is used also his sufficient experience in similar in many, chiefly economic, aspects in Bulgaria. (2014) ]


-->ºººMiscellaneous in the year 2016


-->ºººººº[ Well, here are various things, as it is said, here it goes about the banks' interest rates and the world economic crisis, about cares for the health, also about the bad capitalism and how it can be bettered, especially in poor countries like Bulgaria, this is a new proposition (about communal taxes), and in the end are pictured some funny moments related with bus tickets used as ... money equivalent, this in comic terms. (2016) ]


-->ºººHundred years later (To The Centenary Of October Revolution)


-->ºººººº[ This is my next, and this time last (at least here) apologetic of communism in my traditional, what means entirely /_un_/traditional style of reasonable and unprejudiced observation. The plan of narration is generally the following: about the Russian Revolution, about Lenin, about Stalin, about the communism, about its future, and some comic moments in the end about the spirit of communism. (2017) ]


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-->In the third Part:


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-->III. Feuilletons


-->ººº[ Here are things written as feuilletons, although sometimes they are not really funny. ]


-->ºººAbout the sunflower seeds and the people


-->ºººººº[ This feuilleton deals with the influence of Bulgarian transition to democracy on the consummation of sunflower seeds by the population. (1992 /1995) ]


-->ºººThe extremal solution


-->ºººººº[ In this feuilleton is applied mathematical approach for proving of maximal ... stupidity of one concrete political decision in the past (about setting of limits for the price of some product in the conditions of free market). (1994 ?) ]


-->ºººFor reforming of Bulgarian language


-->ºººººº[ This joke is dedicated to the reforming of Bulgarian language in a similar with the English manner, yet is not translated due to the specifics of the text, here is only retold the idea. (1994 /1997) ]


-->ºººTo contemporary Bulgarian language


-->ºººººº[ This feuilleton is similar with the previous, but it treats the massive Americanization of Bulgarian language; here is given also only the idea. (1994 /1997) ]


-->ºººNew laws -- old policy


-->ºººººº[ This feuilleton discusses one variant for social protection of bank deposits, i.e. forced closing of some banks and financial firms during the ruling of communists in the beginning of our democracy. (1996) ]


-->ºººHeads up, Bulgarians!


-->ºººººº[ This funny piece is dedicated to our next (in 1998) realization of incredible poverty of Bulgarian people, which had begun, obviously, with the coming of democracy in Bulgaria. ]


-->ºººAre you ready for the elections?


-->ºººººº[ This feuilleton explains some algorithms of democratic (i.e. unreasonable) choice and is permanently actual also today. (1999) ]


-->ººº/_Nomen est numen_/! (to name is to define)


-->ºººººº[ The feuilleton is dedicated to the exclusive significance of the /_name_/ for the success of prominent political figures; jokes aside, but this really is, and not of small, importance. (2000) ]


-->ºººHow to fill the treasury


-->ºººººº[ How the title shows the feuilleton is written in order to help the financial Ministers and observes various kinds of taxes. It is also always up to day. (2000) ]


-->ºººAbout the usefulness of cockroaches (scientific feuilleton)


-->ºººººº[ This feuilleton is obviously dedicated to the cockroaches; the way of narration is quite popular and of use for everybody (2012) ]


-->ºººBetter not to live to pension age!


-->ºººººº[ This last feuilleton explains some curious moments with Bulgarian pensions and is based on personal experience of the author. (2016) ]


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-->In the fourth Part:


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-->IV. Others


-->ººº[ Here are other things which do not belong to any of the previous three sections. ]


-->ºººActual political dictionary


-->ºººººº[ What is said. (1993 ?) ]


-->ºººAn open question


-->ºººººº[ This is a standard test for representatives of variety of political forces intended to allow to our population to find themselves better in the views of those persons in complicated contemporary situation. (1994 ?) ]


-->ºººAbout the trees and the people (forest allegory)


-->ºººººº[ This miniature is dedicated to the parallel between the reaction of a whole nation by the transition to democracy and the reaction of the wood on bending. (1994 ?) ]


-->ºººDozen questions for deliberation


-->ºººººº[ These are questions about the democracy, the capitalism, our transition, and other still important questions. (1996 ?) ]


-->ºººCould one cope with it?!


-->ºººººº[ Here are discussed the absurd, yet real, social security payments in Bulgaria in that time. (2000) ]


-->ºººIdea about new calendar


-->ºººººº[ What is said (and this may appear in other place). (2012) ]


-->ºººReflections about the numbers (popular etymology and more)


-->ºººººº[ This is a popular booklet (which may be published also on other place) about the names of all digits and more important numbers in /_different_/ languages, about their graphical images, and about various possible /_ideas_/ hidden behind their names. The questions are pretty complicated and lost in the gone centuries, it might be that they are somewhere partially explained, but the author has come to them /_alone_/. These are things interesting for everybody, they, in principle, are not very complicated, but as far as they require some mathematical knowledge and profound etymological researches, then they are practically known to nobody (well, some, say, 2-3 % guess about /_something_/, yet surely not about all moments). So that this is serious scientific paper, only popularly written. (2012) ]


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===>*_FOREWORD_*


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-->This book contains all my publicistic works, written in the period of Bulgarian transition to democracy, which has begun in 1989, and should have ended when our standard of life will reach the former level. Judging by our rates of development and the muddle in which we state this can continue for a whole generation or 25 - 30 years, but even for a decade was accumulated certain amount of things, so that I decided to gather them in one place. Based on the time in which I have written them, it is normal to expect that they will deal mainly with the democratic phenomenon, which is one interesting and stable social phenomenon (when it exists for more than 25 centuries), but, of course, it does not pose any panacea, that will directly solve our problems (more so because for the present it has led us to a bigger mess), and it surely has its innate and unavoidable (if I can use this economic term), or necessary, drawbacks.


-->In other words, one constructive, even if in some cases also utopian and idealized, critique must be useful for people, who like to ask themselves questions about the world and the society (although in our dynamic times such people are not much; but in which epoch they have been much?). And that it is really constructive can be concluded at least by the fact that the author is not related to whatever political or leading economic or other structure, so that he can be maximally unbiased. But he has, of necessity, mainly left-wing political convictions because they, at least for more than a century, happen to be a kind of criterion for healthy reasoning. This is so for the simple reason that our world is unjust and cruel to the isolated and weak individual, and it is a function of society to make it a bit more just and favorable, what is, namely, the quintessence of the "socio", or the right of the weak. This has been known from deep antiquity, but only in the society of universal prosperity (or post-industrial society, or of the well developed capitalism, or how else you name it) it became possible to convert the wishes to reality for the wide population. Or, if you like, just take it that the author is not of the strongest of the day, and when so then he sticks to the interests of the weak.


-->The sequence of the materials is as a rule chronological in the framework of the sections, but the very sections are something questionable, where under materials for journals is understood that these are longer and more serious works, but for the everyday press are needed a bit more "chewed up" things, where one should not ponder much about the matter. For this reason in the newspapers are used shorter columns, to be possible to take a quick look over them, what is preserved also here. The feuilletons is clear what they mean, though to some extent this is a laughter through tears, in most cases, but that is why the satire is invented -- to allow us to bear easily the burdens of everyday life. In the section "Others" are gathered such things which I have not succeeded to decide where else to put.


-->About a dozen things were published in some newspapers, although mainly in abbreviated (and mutilated, I would say) form, many things I have posted to editorial offices and they have remained without reply, but the majority of the materials were written primarily for the pleasure of it (well, and for filling of the time with something, because one "professionally" unemployed has in his disposition a big amount of this special "product"). Of course one should not expect to "discover America" here, but you will most probably find some /_different_/ from the official press (or propaganda) look, for the reason that the author is not between those people who keep an eye on the media, so that there is no danger for him to begin to say platitudes. Many of the things are not actual today (and other ones will become such with the time), but it, the journalistic work, is, in principle, tied to the moment of activity and is aging fast, what does not mean that the model of reasoning or the conclusions change (i.e., under similar circumstances we will again behave "silly but in our own way", how sounded one phrase from totalitarian times), and that is why they are left here, to give the readers better possibility to appreciate the author as independent (but really) creative worker.


-->Well, this is all, my dear future readers, and if you, occasionally, happen to like some things of the written, then just drink a glass of liqueur for "repose of the sole" of the author, for it is not likely that this book will see the light of day when he is still alive (if not for other reason than at least because publicistics is gathered for long years and published, eventually, after death). It is better to accept that my name is this, with which I sign under (because -- well, for what reason you do not like it?), and that the date below is put as a moment when I decided to gather all these things in one place, and in no way is beginning or ending date. Pleasant reading then.


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-->2001, Sofia, Bulgaria Chris Myrski


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-->P.S. In 2017 at last I have closed this enormous book.


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====>*_FOR JOURNALS_*


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===>*_ESSAY ON THE COMMON SENSE/*_*


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-->[ * This material is entirely different from the other things in the book and is left with retrospective purposes, but see also the P.S. at the end. ]


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-->Relatively recently I heard one old anecdote, that the socialism was a "*_victory of all progressive forces over the common sense_*". Not absolutizing this questionable opinion one should not forget also the popular wisdom that in each joke there is some truth, so that let us try to find whether in this case, really, some truth exists.


-->The notion "common sense" usually is taken for primary and non definable. It means something deeply inherent to the human nature, instinct about reasonability when there are not enough data and methods provided for taking of the decision, motivation on the level of /_not hampered by education_/ ordinary human individual, at the level of children's primitiveness of reasoning. If we want to be more exact we must add that this is definition of the author acquired on the basis of ... his common sense.


-->Each society, however, imposes layerings to this notion, creating in this way some norms of coexistence. As far as the interests of individual always enter, in one or another degree, in contradiction with the interests of society, it is possible that the needed /_behaviour_/ of the average member of society contradicts to the common sense. When there are several strata, groups, or classes, under the term average member of the society must be understood the averaged value for each of these groups. Anyway, I don't intend to revise the historical materialism, I just want to say that the more exact the norms of behaviour for the greater part of society agree with the common sense, the more natural these people perform their duties to the society. Inasmuch as the main goal of each society (its ruling part) is to /_preserve_/ (as long as possible) this society, and the common sense of each of its members is characterized with unavoidable egoistic trend, then the decision received on the path of least resistance is in this, the society to require norms of behaviour maximally close to the common sense of each individual.


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=>*_1._* Let us begin with *_simple examples: about the unnecessary prohibitions._*


-->We were used to seeing often enough in our country inscriptions like "No admittance" or "Show the pass without reminder" and similar examples, but this on places where this is not necessary. As far as everybody knows that the order is formal nobody respects it and does not require the passes (with exception of pair of days in the year, when there is the next "activity action" of some chief or other). Variation of this situation is when the main entry is guarded, but along with it there is some hole in the fence, which everybody can learn if he wishes. It is naturally, if something is forbidden, to know by whom, why, and what will be the consequences of not sticking to the order, but it is not at all always such the case in Bulgaria. The result is that that one, who includes in his moral codex the rule "the more impudent wins", he usually wins indeed.


-->Another variance can be seen in many of our apartment complexes. It is generally known that the footpaths, more often than not, are not made there, where the human flow is the biggest. Instead, though, to make them where they are needed, we put signs, set wire fences, or invite the general public to watch who goes through the lawns. The result, of course, is zero.


-->Similar is the situation also when in the corridors or foyer where the people usually smoke cigarettes, instead of to put metal baskets or take some other measures for preventing of fire, or for bettering of ventilation, they just put sign "No smoking". In the result people again smoke there, but extinguish the cigarettes on the floor or where only possible, increasing in this way the danger of fire and the pollution around.


-->Not much different is the situation with the mandatory examination sessions in the universities. It is invented a complicated system establishing when a given student can appear for the exam and how he will move to the next year, while at the same time are established also the allowed conditions for exceptions, which are used so often that, on the average, a quarter of the students make use of them, and this is not observed as hindrance to the process of learning. From the point of view of the common sense it is clear that, either the number of exceptions must be reduced, or the rules have to be changed.


-->Maybe the most significant expression the unnecessary prohibitions find in the area of secrecy. The author has no intentions to announce "state secrets" citing here various examples of pseudo-secrecy, because each one of us could have given a number of such cases. However illogical this may seem but in the most cases is applied the rule that all, what shows our /_backwardness_/, as in the area of economy, so also in the social and political spheres, is a state secret, which can discredit the system.


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=>*_2._* Another more serious category of *_examples_* are those *_related with personal initiative._*


-->Many times we have discussed the question about the personal involvement in performing of some useful for the society activity, and the corresponding material and moral stimuluses. In spite of this, there are many examples of unsatisfactory decisions, when for equal in quantity and quality labor people receive entirely different payments, and there even happen that for a greater work is paid less. The common sense struggles to accept why a health nurse must receive for 6 hours of work in the polyclinic, say, 10 levs/**, where for one injection at home -- 5 levs; nor why for one hour of instruction a teacher receives 3 levs, where for private lesson -- from 5 to 10 levs; similarly also with the building workers, auto-mechanics, and so on, and so on. Practically this leads to arising of personal disinterestedness in performing of the main work.


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-->[ ** A Lev is the Bulgarian currency, also meaning a lion, which in those concluding totalitarian years, around 1988, was officially still equal to one US dollar, but unofficially was about five times weaker. ]


-->


-->The wish to advance in professional hierarchy, called sometimes unjustified careerism, has also its meaning for the initiative of the worker. It is logical that that one, who works more conscientiously and effectively, will move faster upward. Alas, very often decisive, if not the single one, happens to be the criterion for political activity and ideological consciousness -- i.e. ranging on the scale of "our man".


-->It is clear that the youth is the most revolutionary and initiative part of the population in each society. In this sense there should have been shown aid and support for increasing of self-dependence and feeling of responsibility of the young people before the society. Our system, however, hinders in all possible ways similar efforts of the youth -- with the financial mechanism, with problems with the lodging, with the singleness of our youth organization, with the system of distributing of young professionals, and so on. In result of this the initiative of the young ones is restrained and they continue to want to have everything ready, as when they were little.


-->The initiative is constrained not only in regard of various persons, but also in regard of whole enterprises. No matter that there were many talks about the independence of companies and the competition between them, nothing of this is shown in practice. Let us not discuss here the relation between the competition, market mechanism, deficiency, and socialism. It suffices to say that without competition there is no space for the initiative of the people and companies, there is no possibility for adaptive development of the economy.


-->Related with the above-mentioned and sufficiently important for to dwell on it is the problem with the fight against monopolies. We not only don't have legal basis for such fight, but we think that this is fight against the social order (probably because in our conditions the state is the single monopolist). The common sense, however, requires that the bigger one producer is, the more was taken from him or it (where in Bulgaria the petrol is still sold cheaper to the state, and more expensive to the citizens or small companies).


-->


=>*_3._* Let us now look for *_examples_* for contradiction to the common sense in questions *_related with the property_*.


-->In recent times in Bulgaria have begun to speak about equalizing of different forms of ownership: state's, cooperative, of group of people, private, shareholding. This is entirely in accordance with the normal human logic. But the problem is that for the moment we just speak about this (as also about the equality before the law, yet in many cases is needed the opinion of party or Komsomol organization confirming this "equality"). And, really, in Bulgaria the number plates on cars are different in colour (and the petrol is sold by different prices), depending on the form of ownership. We have wholesale and retail prices, but in practice these are prices by which is sold to different /_kinds_/ of owners, where usually is applied the contradictory to the common sense rule: the bigger owner buys cheapen, and the common citizen -- on most expensive prices. It is true that in this way is proved the advantage of the bigger owner, but it is also true that if it is based on this only tendentious price mechanism, then, surely, it is base on nothing!


-->In defining of personal property the socialism goes out of the rule for elimination of exploitation of human by human. This is logical. Bad are only various deformations of this rule leading to exploitation of the common citizen by the state or by some different persons in the party or state apparatus. In usual practice it happens so that, even if one has enough money to buy himself a home, then he can't have a dwelling for less than 15 years, or he must enslave himself to that enterprise, which has given him the home. All knew that the state gives a credit of 15 thousand levs to young families to buy themselves a home, but they don't know whether at least 5 % of them have received such credit. Similar is the situation also with the cars -- the state's apparatus uses our money by /_zero_/ percent interest for us, and we wait so about ten years. The same is true also for agricultural machinery and other means for small-scale productivity -- there either such are not produced, or they are not sold to persons, or are scarce and deficit. In other words, if one has, after all, some rights to personal property, it is done everything possible (for various reasons) for him not to receive it.


-->Not much better is the case with the fertile land for personal use (1-2 decares, i.e. 0.1-0.2 hectares). Such land simply is not given. People are satisfied with barren personal sites, that in addition to all can always be taken back by the state. Has, really, some authentic socialist thought that with one decare of land a person can turn to exploiter? At the same time, each year the winter comes "unexpectedly" and part of the harvest remains "as fertilizer". The common sense does not object to the big fields with wheat, maize corn, or palmetto trees, but there are great number of cultures that require mainly manual labour and give better results when one and the same person takes care for them. The land must be worked lovingly, and, however we twist our souls, no parent loves foreign children more than his or her own, figuratively speaking.


-->


=>*_4._* We can't jump over some *_examples related with the education._*


-->Our educational system, beginning with the lowest and going to the highest level, sets accent mainly on memorization of the factual material and not on the especially valuable feature of the intellect to /_think_/, draw inferences and conclusions. It is true that nearly in each scientific area there are its "multiplication tables", which must be memorized, but no science consists only of tables and facts. ( By the way, in Bulgaria only before about ten years was allowed to use mathematical tables during the exams. ) Why don't we use more largely systems of tests, that are widely used in many well developed countries? Should we be afraid if somebody says something reasonable, which can turn out to be questionable?


-->It is well known that in our country the education is free of charge and generally accessible. What can be better than something that costs nothing? Yeah, but in practice this leads to some abnormal situations, because the education, still, /_costs_/, and much money, to the state! It turns out that the exams in the universities are, in fact, not at the end of study, but in the beginning, when the given student has pretty hazy ideas about the chosen by him profession. The exams at the end are chiefly formal, because the state has already spent money, and the very university wants to minimize the percentage of "rejected production". And besides, the common sense suggests that if something costs nothing then, maybe, it really is worth nothing? Adding to this the compulsive character of education, which is not to the tastes of the youth of age, the abnormal competition when applying to the universities, no matter that there are all perspectives for humble life after graduating from them, the overloaded with ideological disciplines program of study, and other moments, and it happens so, that the student rarely chooses his specialty by vocation. All in all, must be contemplated some form of free of charge education, which will be applied only to diligent students, and the mediocre ones will have to pay something; must be thought about some system of bonuses and penalties; about specialized exams (rather tests) by applying, which will be established differentially by each university and for each specialty; and other measures, which will counteract to the minuses of the free education and support the pluses of the vocation as method for selection.


-->Very important for each society is the question with reasonable establishing of different educational levels. The very name is not substantial, but what educational level one receives after finishing of the course of study. In the moment in Bulgaria exist secondary technical schools with level higher than secondary, language gymnasiums with level of tertiary education concerning the language, semi-high level (between secondary and tertiary) with real weight of secondary specialized, defending of PhD dissertations with level of diploma theses, formal tertiary party education, and other educational dissonances. In the same time many knowledges (about driving a car, typing on a typewriter, etc.), necessary for everybody of us, are outside the sphere of educational system. The unreal educational levels lead to various deformations related with the formal treating of educational qualification and add bigger mess in establishing of the (already blurry concept of) intellectuals. The devaluation of our education continues.


-->


=>*_5._* Let us now take in focus another circle of *_questions -- related with the financial policy_* of the state.


-->The finances are the money, which have arisen historically as universal tool for measuring of different values. Let us not discuss now the point, can they really be used for measuring of /_all_/ goods. But we can't miss to stress on the idea for reducing of /_multidimensional_/ space of different qualities to one numerical axes -- the money. The common sense, not falling in details, naturally, chooses the more simple scheme. Our Party and Government, though, have stressed on the difficulties for reducing of all human values to the money, have decided that this is impossible, have tried to introduce other scales (like moral stimuli, ideological conviction, etc.), and at the end have settled on the scale "our man"! Our long experience, however, have convinced us that this also in not a solution. Shouldn't we return again to the idea of money, restricting only their power over the people, instead of to search for some other universal meter for values?


-->The author does not state that he is familiar with the question of convertibility of currency, to what currency, up to what amounts, for whom and on what rates. These, surely, are difficult problems, which we must leave to the specialists. Nevertheless, it isn't clear why there still does not exist one and the same rate and from the both sides of the equation but we violate its symmetry? Neither is clear why we invent unreal rate for the Bulgarian lev and then try to "realize" it, were it paying some premium, were it via prohibitions, were it with the use of Corecom shops (where was bought with US dollars), were it using currency auctions organized by the Bulgarian State Bank, were it via the "black market", or with some other tricks. Have we not yet understood, that of all possible decisions this is /_the worse_/?


-->The state apparatus must be supported, more so in a socialist state, where there are big social insurances and centralized financial regulation of the whole society. The imposing of everybody with taxes is unavoidable. But the common sense requires to collect taxes and payments for something produced, or in order to stimulate a given productivity, otherwise we can reach to the former notorious "teeth tax", with which our forefathers were burdened during the five centuries of Ottoman rule, for this that the Turkish rulers have rubbed their teeth when the wealthy Bulgarian hosts have given feasts to them. Nevertheless in Bulgaria (as far as it is known to the author) for to ascribe a home or some other possession to his /her relative, one must pay about 1,000 levs for a paper work that in no way can exceed 10 levs -- it must be paid inheritance tax. The price of one foreign passport is circa 100 levs, but in the same time one domestic passport costs 6 levs. The folks still remember the time when people have had to pay bachelor tax if they have no children, even if their child has died. Must another plane crash down/*** in order to change this anachronism? Is it possible, when the state gives a loan to require from 3.5 to 4 percent, but when we put our money in the banks, to give us only 1 %? Is this not an indirect tax of about 3 % for this, that we just have money which we can not spend, because there is /_nothing worth buying_/? Willy-nilly the association with the mentioned "teeth tax" comes to mind.


-->


-->[ *** There was something that was bettered after falling of one Bulgarian plane, but after 25 years I have forgotten what exactly, sorry. ]


-->


-->The financial policy of the state is shown also in the question of pensions. Though I don't mean here the age of retirement, neither the percentage, but the fact that the pensions, practically, are not corrected in accordance with the yearly inflation. From the point of view of the common sense is necessary for the pensions to be released taking into account the standard of life in the given moment (and independently from the salary), or according to the corrected with the current standard working salary. If one is quiet about the amount of his /her pension, then a lot of people in the age of 45 - 50 years and having made their necessary years for pension, could have ensured their subsistence in various useful for the society ways, not occupying regular places in the staff, giving in this way free space for self-expression to others young and ambitious persons. It is necessary for the person not only to can, but to have interest to change the nature of his (or her) work, if this is for the benefit of the society, or if his health in our dynamical times requires such measures.


-->The salaries of intellectuals (not only of artistic ones, but also of physicians, scientific workers, engineers, teachers etc.) are established centralized by the state and paid chiefly from the state budget. The common sense (and the principles of socialism) require that the salary is a measure for the social significance of the individual. Yet at the same time the salaries of the intellectuals are less than the nominal salaries of industrial workers with low qualification, less or about the average salary for the country, and twice less the salaries in the militia or army. It seems to be well-known the rule that the ability of state to take care about its intellectuals is measure for the financial well-being and level of development in it. We talk much about the leading role of intellectuals in the process of perestroika, about the cares of Party and Government, about the transformation of sciences in productive force, and the like. In practice, however, there are not at all rare cases when a medical doctor after (or before) his (or her) work sits behind the wheel of his private taxi; when philologists and other specialists with tertiary education work in teams of dyers; when Candidate PhDs (we had such degrees) and PhDs close jars with preserves for the winter or repair their cars etc., in order to earn or economize "a pair of levs". From our newspapers were heard even praising words about this, how a team of computer programmers have gone to the village to milk cows, showing in this way the "unity and solidarity" of Bulgarian people. Naturally, every rule has its exceptions, but our exceptions have turned to the rule: /_the more one learns, the less one receives_/!


-->This rule, in addition to the negative pedagogical aspect, leads also to lessening of productivity of the intellectuals, taking up big part of their time for unusual activities. Where has gone the proverbial affection of the Bulgarian for science and knowledge -- it was changed with anecdotes about the "learned" one! It isn't clear when at last we will stop trying to check whether the "learned" can do the work of the "unlearned"? The reversed experiments are not made, because the answer is clear! And in order not to accuse the author in partiality let us stress that the situation in Bulgaria is wide away from that of the times of the cult to Stalin in the Soviet Union, or in the times of the cultural revolution in China, so that we can wait a bit more and continue speaking about the cares of Party and Government, which (at least up to the moment) have come with such a delay, that immediately thereafter the question could have been raised again.


-->Furthermore, the state uses the financial mechanism for stimulating of development of some industry branches declared for strategic and defining, what is logical in itself. But in Bulgaria for strategic were declared such branches of industry, in which we have /_had no traditions_/: electronics, mechanical engineering and metal processing industry, the "big" chemistry, and nowadays the biotechnologies. If similar measures are taken in the well developed countries that this is done so, that the production of the strategic branches were competitive. The policy of centralized planning and state monopoly, especially after the legendary April Plenum of the Central Committee from 1956, have lead to serious investment in this areas and ... to nothing more.


-->If, roughly speaking, the standard of life in Bulgaria is 10 /_times_/ lower than in many western countries (because the food prices, those the of productions of light industry, of cars and homes in our country, given in Bulgarian levs, are practically equal to the corresponding prices on the West, expressed in US dollars, with this "tiny" difference, that the average working salaries in Bulgaria are about ten times less), then in some of this areas were set "records". So for example, one personal computer of type IBM-PC/AT costs 2,000 - 2,500 dollars, or one average salary there, where in Bulgaria it costs (Bulgarian one, and "high-quality") about 35,000 levs or 10 /_annual_/ salaries, what gives a quotient of /_100 times_/! More or less the same is situation also with the video appliances. A bit better -- with the instruments and the production of mechanical engineering. What concerns the "big" chemistry and metal-processing industry, if there the quotient is less, so this is at the cost of our lungs, because of the practical absence of modern and high expensive cleansing facilities. But on the other hand we very "clever" suppress the progress of agriculture, because in this area we /_really_/ have had traditions. Such disproportions can't be explained from common sense positions.


-->


=>*_6._* Maybe it is now time to cast a look at *_our attitude towards the nature._*


-->The author does not pretend on priority of the statement, that whatever out attitude to those like us is, such is also our attitude to everything around us, i.e. to the environment. The simple peasant kills some animal or cuts off a tree when he needs to eat or to warm himself, but not just to boast that he is stronger than the nature. We have cut down our forests and taken the most fertile land for to raise up our industrial giants; have polluted the rivers and lakes; have turned our parks to garbage pits; our Black Sea has become really /_black_/; the level of air pollution in the cities, industrial areas, and in the capital, has reached record values on a worldwide scale; we have made our "worthy contribution" also in the radioactive contamination. Together with this the road sign for bicycle alley is practically unknown in Bulgaria; and if somebody wants to keep a dog he must pay the corresponding (again record high) tax for his love to the animals and keep it in suitable cage, or teach it to fly -- this isn't yet forbidden. In short, we have learned to show out contempt to /_everything_/ around is (in the name of the great goal) and now the nature takes revenge on us for our unreasonable pride.


-->It still is not clear why we have decided that the more developed we become, the more we must concentrate and enlarge everything. In the nature the things are mutually balanced, but we have decided that we are stronger than it and must change it. The industrial giants were not enough for us, we must have raised them near big towns, to the very capital. And is it possible for a capital not to be the best in every one aspect: in industrial, administrative, political, educational, and so on? It is true that in many western countries are formed separate administrative centers, separate small university towns, separate industrial areas, but this may be so because they can't "plan" so good the things as us?


-->And what we have done with our homes? We have filled the towns, but also the small villages, with multi-storey apartment buildings -- away from the earth, near to the industry. Instead of making "villages of town type" -- with their classic two-storey houses and one decare of land around them, but with central heating and telephones, we have made "towns of village type" -- have built panel houses and declared the villages towns! The common sense requires that the man lives amongst the nature, /_merges with it_/, if you want, and we have masked our incapability in this relation with loud phrases about "the cares of Party and Government and personally of the comrade ... ". But in the same time some "deserved comrades" have built themselves nice country dachas, and to the folks were explained that if they want to join the working class they should go to the towns, where they can receive their due "box" after approximately 10-20 years hard work of "deeds and only deeds" (it is known phrase of our Todor Zhivkov -- "deeds, deeds, and only deeds"). Oh, silly people, why are you ashamed to be called peasants?


-->


=>*_7._* In the end we must look also at *_the political life in Bulgaria._*


-->It is well known that the most progressive, honest, ideologically-convinced, capable, hardened in battles, and unable to make whatever errors part of Bulgarian nation is our communist party. We repeat this phrase for such long time that, from the point of view of the common sense, the /_diametrically opposed_/ statement begins to impose itself, because "over-holy saint isn't loved by the very God"! From the positions of ideological monism we have forgotten the old truth that man is sinful, and the party consists of people. More than this, we have substituted the notions honour and bravery with ideological conviction; the democracy -- with democratic centralism, degenerated in centralism and ovations; the deeds -- with words about them; the wish of someone to receive deserved reward for his work -- with the socialistic competition; the real thing -- with the desired. And while the perestroika is expressed only in substitution of one person with another, of the "deeds" -- with "work", of the very "perestroika" -- with "new" or "real" such, of the "developed" socialism -- with "real" such, but continuing officially asserting that in the given moment (as also in any former period of time) the policy of the Party was and remains the only proper one, the common sense will rebel.


-->In the recent time was unambiguously raised also the question with multi-party system. There have arisen and make their first steps a number of independent unions and parties. There are talks about independent elections. In fact, the things are obvious: there can't be stable and adaptive ruling without negative feedback, and the feedback in the political life is the *_legal opposition_*. If one party does not allow the existence of official opposition, it either feels weak to stand against it, or then is just foolish -- there is no other alternative!


-->It is clear that today in our country are carried out stormy evolutionary changes aimed at stabilizing of the old and compromised political system. This is praiseworthy, because if the system succeeds to adapt to the new conditions in the world, then it is lively! But for this purpose, in order to make possible the renewing of the governmental bodies, the renewing of the very communist party through active fight within itself, the unavoidable condition is the separating of the party from the state! The common sense tells us that, as in the economy, so also in the politics, is in effect the rule: there is *_no development without competition_*!


-->We all have different ideas about the democracy, but they are roughly reduced to the ability for the people to state openly their meaning on various questions of vital for them interest, in order to allow to the governing body to take justified decisions. Contrary to the common sense, however, the democracy in our country was restricted to the possibility for the common person: either speak in favour of the "Party and Government", or else regret about his silly demeanor! We as if have forgotten that each one of us has his own opinions and if for something important vote unanimously at least 90 % (and we preferred the round number 100), then this means that people *_/_do not_/_* vote at all, because such unity is /_unnatural_/, it is compulsory! Anyway, at the present stage can be argued only about the form of democracy, not about the democracy in itself, inasmuch as *_each dictatorship_* (even that of the proletariat) *_shows /_weakness_/_*, and the successes of the dictatorship are only temporary and dubious!


-->


-->We shall not miss to put a pair of lines about the term "perestroika", which has already entered in many Western languages literally, with miniature differences. If we don't use special phrasal ornamentations *_the perestroika is_*, in its essence: *_a try to create democratic society under the conditions of inherited deficit and totalitarity of the "developed" socialism_*. Let us hope that this experiment will be successful!


-->


-->*_In conclusion_* let us return to the thought touched in the very beginning. We deliberately have not observed the real causes for the arisen contradictions between the common sense and the "developed" socialist society -- let us leave the analysis to the specialists. Besides, the causes are, in fact, complex: as subjective, also objective, but errors generated by the very nature of the dictatorship as form of ruling, too. Some of them were noticed in time and were taken measures for their elimination (but they were not applied consecutively), others were left unnoticed in the atmosphere of political and economic monopoly of the state, and third will be only now acknowledged. Many problems have remained outside the scope of our examination. Ways for solving of this contradictions were also not shown, though in numerous cases the author has his own views, which have been touched in the course of narration.


-->Finally, if we encounter so many problems in building of a really socialist society, then let us try at least to build one democratic society, a society of the common sense, without which we can't live even in the cellar of the European Home! Let us not forget this!


-->


-->December, 1989


-->


-->*_P.S._* As you see, this is a view in the spirit of perestroika and it seems very naive with a hindsight of dozen years. But it is useful with this, that it is moderate and creative critique, aimed at evolutionary reforming of the socialism, because it, by God, has its enormous advantages before the unmoral and rough capitalism, to which we returned as a result of the quiet madness of our people. But these questions were discussed many times in this whole book, so that we will skip them now, yet the insignificance of the raised questions is remarkable. Because, surely, our problems under the totalitarianism not only look now insignificant, but they were such, compared with the real mess of our transition to the democracy. These were problems not only of our former system, but of the very centralized ruling, and even in the USA they couldn't have managed without their "perestroika", somewhere in the 70ties and 80ties of the former 20th century, because USA, as every self-respecting state, has its unavoidable centralized structures, like army and police at the least. So that our problems were not new ones, but they were for us the major ones.


-->Because we have lived as in a /_greenhouse_/, in one sterile society, or, if we use one not very pleasant but true comparison: we have lived a life of well fed pets -- dogs, for example. We were satiated, combed, and our hosts (i.e. the nomenclature) just took pleasure in us, but, naturally, they wanted that we behaved properly. And then, when the transition came, they simply unleashed our collars, and set us free in the big world. Yeah, but it, this world, was not so good as we have thought, when were fed and kept warm, and now we again look for new good hosts, though this time from the economically stronger Western countries. Be it as it may, the important thing is that we showed all symptoms of unleashed dogs, in view of which the author spoke in that times about the "*_/_syndrome of the unleashed dog_/_*" as our chief illness, which one great Bulgarian (our writer Ivan Vasov) has named in his time the "drunkenness" of a whole nation. Well, it isn't so bad if one drinks once in a while, but there must be some measure in everything, mustn't it? But thus rule was not in effect for us, because if the moderation is the main requirement for a quiet life and also a kind of criterion for reasonableness, then we have shown whatever else but not reasonableness!


-->Though there is also something else. The very question is /_wrongly_/ set at all, because /_not a single nation_/ can be as much reasonable as one technically educated and thinking person like your author could wish. Id est, the reasonable social government, still, is only one big utopia for the masses and does not exist in the world! But it was a nice utopia, wasn't it, and nothing hindered one satiated little dog, like your author, to fantasize about the blessed country of the intelligent dogs. Or to dream about this, because when one well fed dog sleeps it has nice or "rosy" dreams. Well, now, because we are hungry, then our dreams are "blue", right?


-->


-->2001


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-->*_-- -- -- -- --_*


-->


===>*_ABOUT THE TURN TO THE LEFT (Or Pulse Political Science)_*


-->


-->Hardly nowadays exists highly commented question in our political life than that about the eventual turn to the left: for parties and movements, for the country as a whole, when and will it happen or not at all, up to what extent to the left and for what time, and so on. One can bet about this, and not without reasons, of course. But, still, I can't get rid of the feeling that this is again political machination (with which we have become painfully accustomed), because the question is *_/_not_/_* set correctly. Because the question is not "will we turn to the left", but "*_/_when_/_* will we turn to the left"? The more important arguments here are the following:


-->


-->*_a)_* The truth is in the middle -- statement, about which we have information for more than 25 centuries, but what, surely, was known earlier. In a dynamic environment, if the situation was not such in regard of some parameter, then we should have reached to one of both ends, and having once taken this value the things would have simply not depended on this parameter (but here is quite obvious that many things depend on this, will we turn to the left or to the right).


-->


-->*_b)_* This movement is one ceaseless oscillation. Having in mind that even the ancient Greek philosopher Platon was, in fact, greater communist than Lenin (because he was not only against the private property, but thought that the families, too, must disappear entirely and people must live not for themselves, but only for the state), as also greater utopist, of course, then it is clear that the leftism wasn't born yesterday. And what concerns the right-hand extremities, then not a few rebellions or revolutions have burst, for to cope with them. Because however just it seems, that only in the garden of John rained and grew the cabbage and potatoes, where in that of his neighbour Peter -- not a drop, and only the family of John could eat their full, then it comes time, when the neighbour Peter becomes bored to look at his hungry kids and rejects this justice (one shell not forget that in English, German, even Russian, right as just and right as not left is /_one and the same_/ word), and he revolts to seek social justice on the other, i.e. left (as it exactly is in English) side. So that, in short, neither one, nor the other, end is something set once and forever, and the nations always oscillate, where the governments try to balance between these extremities.


-->


-->*_c)_* The historical example in the development of ex-communist countries, which are before us in economic aspect, unambiguously shows (for the moment) tendency to the left. And if this tendency is not to be observed in some countries, then this is only in such like the former "great and indestructible" Soviet Union, which country has still /_not yet_/ moved enough to the right! And before the facts even the politicians have to keep silent.


-->


-->In order to sum up these three moments is easiest to use the *_model of damped oscillation_* (that of a pendulum, for example), which is multiplication of exponential and sinusoidal functions and is shown schematic on the figure/* (Fig.1.), with the curve "0" taken for basic. Of course, in sociology can't be spoken about such exact relationships and is not possible to define /_how much_/ to the left or the right we are (i.e. the amplitude of oscillation) in the given moment, because we haven't two ideally pure left- or right- wing parties in the Parliament. Neither is it possible to establish exactly the period, so that if from the first utmost left point (say, in the upper part of the figure) to the second such one have gone 10 (conditional) years, and from the second to the third -- 15 years, then this can be observed as sufficient precision. But this, that we can't use this method for good quantitative estimates, does not mean that it is bad in /_qualitative_/ regard, because it accurately reflects gradually decreasing oscillations around given steady state value, which is naturally to accept in the middle.


-->


-->[ * The picture, alas, is missing, so that you are forced to believe blind to my explanations (but it was not pretty accurate, because I have drown it with the mouse only). ]


-->


-->What is good in this qualitative model, above all, is that based on it can be made interesting *_conclusions_*. The first and most important observation in this case is that there exist two alternative ways for diminishing of the steepness of movement (according to the horizontal time axes), namely:


-->


-->*_1)_* via /_shrinking of exponential enveloping_/ curve, which defines the rate of damping (not shown on Fig.1.), what corresponds to the curve "1" (the blue one), which falls down more smoothly, because it has the same period, but does not reach such great amplitudes; or


-->


-->*_2)_* via /_extending of oscillatory process_/ on a longer period, what corresponds to the curve "2" (the red one).


-->


-->Both ways lead to relatively equal slope (steepness) on the /_corresponding_/ parts of curves 1 and 2 (or from the beginning to the first semi-period, to the place where the dashes with the numbers are put, where they fall down; or later on, from the lowest position till the end of the first period, where they rise up -- but everywhere on linear regions they move almost in parallel). Again must be clarified, that it can be argued about the point how much the slopes are equal, but in all cases they are less than the corresponding slope of curve 0 (the black one). And we pay such attention on the slopes, because it is natural to accept that the goal of each movement is to reach maximally fast damping by /_minimally possible steepness_/, i.e. to have smoothly and crisis-free movement to the new steady state value (to the horizontal axis). And, hence, such movement can be had, either when the curve is damped (its amplitude falls) absolutely faster, i.e. the curve 1 (what is the best variant), or when it damps relatively faster, i.e. the curve 2 (where its amplitude diminishes less, but then for a longer period of time), what in fact happens absolutely slower than the other variant (but is also painless).


-->Let us now look more precisely at both variants, calling for help the pulse technique, where is explained that *_the period of oscillation is characteristic of the system_* (e.g., for the pendulum, of its length), where *_the damping_* of the exponent *_is characteristic of the environment_* (e.g., for the pendulum, this means whether it oscillates in air or in water). In our political case the "system" is the whole nation, the given country, from the point of view of its economic abilities, social consciousness and unity of the voters, of its natural conditions, traditions, and so on, i.e. this is such thing which can't be (at least this is not easy) changed. On the other hand the damping of the exponent depends on the environment, and in this case it is political, i.e. these are the parties, which help (or hinder) the given nation to reach the steady state value of equilibrium, and on this environment is possible, and also /_necessary_/, to show influence and change it.


-->[ Here was the picture. ]


-->In other words, this means that in countries, where the political environment converges faster to the center, is possible to reach smooth transition also by relatively short period of oscillation, what speaks about powerful economies, socially conscientious and united voters (for example, in Hungary the semi-period is about five years, in Czech Republic and Slovakia, if we subtract a pair of years in view of their separation, as additional problem with which they have had to cope, it may become again so much, or a bit more). At the same time, in countries with worse convergence of political powers, the single possibility for smooth and crisis-free transition consists in longer period of oscillation (i.e. the adaptivity of their system is worse, what is related also with bigger social disagreements, which expresses themselves in worse convergence of political powers, as, for example, in Poland, if we take for beginning of the movement to the right roughly 1985, what will give a semi-period of about 9-10 years). Where there are also countries in which the political environment is so confronted, the social unity of masses so weak, that the single possibility to hold the situation from catastrophic slumping during the period of transition is in the multiple extension (slowing) of the oscillating process (for example in Russia, or rather in the former Soviet Union, where the desert of the great "Gorbi" is in this, that he succeeded to significantly *_/_slow down_/_* this process in the first several years with his /_perestroika_/, otherwise, by practically zero-valued exponent, should have happened obvious slumping in the civil war, which, for the moment, they nearly managed to avoid; so or otherwise, but there already a /_quarter-period_/ of oscillation, even taking out 2-3 years for disintegration of their empire, has reached 6-7 years, what gives an expected semi-period of approximately 15 years). One may boldly state that, as it seems, the semi-period by the worst possible conditions /_can't_/ exceed one generation (20 - 25 years).


-->Let us now return to Bulgaria. Judging by a number of indicators (economic, social, ethnical, and others) we are closest to Poland, and by semi-period of about ten years can be expected, that also our next Parliament will still be right-wing, but somewhere at the end of the century, maybe, we will turn to the left. At the same time, however, I think, that we must not aim at the level (period) of Czechs and Slovaks, so that one turn to the left of the Parliament, but remaining still /_on the right of the center_/, would have been in my view an expression of awaken popular masses in the given moment. This is, maybe, the best for what we can hope in the coming elections, because there were times (and there will again come such times) when to the right meant good, but in the moment more to the left means better, more reasonable and mature!


-->As an additional touch in this review one must also pay attention to the fact, that in the political case (in contrast to the mechanical) the environment (the parties) are not independent from the system (from the population), because they are part of the people, so that it is possible also influence from the part of the political forces on the people and vice versa. In this sense, the better converging environment leads to faster economic development and to more united social consciousness of the people, what enables reaching of a shorter period of oscillation, what, in the end, gives even faster damping (i.e., some positive feedback).


-->And one more detail: the faster the convergence in the Parliament (and, respectively, amidst the people) is, the bigger is the help on the part of the West, because it is natural, when one invests money in something, to require also some guaranties for peaceful and crisis-free evolvement. In other words, *_the Western investments depend /_not on the direction_/_* of our deviation from the center (to the left or the right), *_but /_on the magnitude_/ of this deviation_*, i.e. on the convergence of political powers. This is the only reasonable position, because when the divergence is not big the direction is of no importance.


-->Saying this in other way: if we do not help ourselves, even God will not help us!


-->


-->1995 ?


-->


-->*_P.S._* As the Russians like to say for something well guessed, I /_as if have looked in water_/ (as a kind of magic mirror). Everything I have said 20 years before is right in broad lines (not in details, maybe). About this incessant oscillation, about the economies, the political life, the quiet or on the contrary evolvement, about the slowing down (delaying) of the Russians, et cetera. But I will try to restrict myself from further remarks and retain only those from the time of Russian translation, because the goal is to allow the people to read what I have written and not boast how clever I was and (as a result of this, mainly) have not been appraised in time.


-->2015


-->


-->*_-- -- -- -- --_*


-->


===>*_HOW MUCH HAS TO WIN A COMPANY IN ORDER TO HAVE /_NO_/ GAIN_*


-->


-->The question that we pose now is the following: how big must be the profit of a small company (like, say, one-, two-, or three- person, usually family, Limited Liability Company, Ltd), in order to have, after paying of all taxes, the same gain (or even less), as if the people have just invested the money used in the company during the year in form of personal deposits or government securities (GS) in the banks (which, above all, are also guarantied up to 100 % in case of bankruptcy, according to our Law for Protection of Investments, where the companies lose exactly half of the money in case of bankrupt of the bank, where they keep them), taking in this way into account, via the increment of their savings, the inflation, and the persons who own the company, instead of working in it and earn in this way, work /_somewhere else_/, by the average for the moment working salary? This in my view means, that the company works without any gain (in idle, for "that one who blows" as we in Bulgaria say), that it has no financial interest in any way for its existing, and that, in fact, it is better if it has not functioned at all, because such production not only is not extended, but it can be even named "/_compressed_/"!


-->So that, let us first introduce some names of variables, beginning with the letter /_a_/, with which we shall mark the common profit in levs (our currency, shorten as lv). With letter /_b_/ we shall mark the /_relative *_part_* of the expenses_/ to the profits or material consumption of the productivity (here in the expenses enter all expenses, not only those of materials), where for more convenient notation we will express /_b_/ not in percents but as parts of the whole (say, /_0.2*a_/ instead of 20% /_a_/). Via letter /_c_/ we will denote the average annual gain from deposits in levs (in the moment most profitable is in GS) and again as part, not as percentage (i.e. 0.5, not 50 %, for example). The /_part_/ which the state takes in form of taxes we will mark with the letter /_d_/, and the average net annual salary, i.e. without the income tax (IT) -- with the letter /_e_/. Then, equating the profit of the company after paying the taxes to the possible profit of an average working salary plus the bank interest for the /_spent_/ in the company money (because they were available by the owners, in order for them to be able to invest them in the company and use for production of whatever it is), we get (everything for a whole year), as *_characteristic of the work for nothing_*, the following simple equation:


--> /_a*(1-b)*(1-d) = e + a*b*c_/ (1)


-|because /_a*(1-b)_/ is the profit before the taxes; /_a*(1-b)*(1-d)_/ -- the profit after paying the taxes; and in the same time /_a*b*c_/ is the profit from expenses /_a*b_/, if they were invested in a bank instance as deposits of private persons (from the owners of the company, who also work in it) without the need for existing of the company. Saying it otherwise, the left part gives us the profit of a small company, and the right part is a sum of the average salary and the profit from the spent in the company money, if it was not a company and only the used in an year money were standing on personal deposit. If we now leave on the one part only the letter /_a_/ and solve the equation in regard to it we will have:


--> /_a = e /( (1-b)(1-d) - b*c )_/ (2)


-|what is our *_final formula_*.


-->In order to answer the set in the beginning question we must decrease the number of variables, giving to some of them values as near as possible to the real ones. We shall begin in reverse order of the letters, i.e.:


-->/_e = 100,000_/ lv in an year -- a nice round number, maximally close to the average working salary for the current year (it is not yet exactly calculated, for the year has not yet ended), what gives by 8,000 lv net in month (or, else, nominally 120,000 lv in an year).


-->/_d = 0.3_/, i.e. 30 % -- this is the profit tax for the smallest companies with profit less than 1 mln lv yearly and for the new registered such, what is the lowest tax at all (usually it is 40 %, and even more) and this, respectively, is the best for us case.


-->/_c = 1.4_/ or 140 %, whal looks a good approximation to the real situation, because in the beginning of the year the annual bank interest was 40 %, in the middle of the year it become about 120 % (for GS out of portfolio emissions of trading banks), in September the most secure bank, the National Bank of Bulgaria (BNB), has issued bonds with yearly interest of 130 %, and the trading banks sold GS with 170 % annually. Such was the case till the end of September (revolutionary month, at least for Bulgarian people -- there were pair of revolution in Bulgaria in the first half of 20th century on this month), and now the newest information is that the basic interest rate (BIR) have become 300 % and if it will stay so till the end of the year (i.e. "/_if our state will exist_/", as some wicked tongues say) can be expected that this will give averaged /_real_/ gain about 160 % in year (what is more than our gain of the averaged BIR), but we "out of modesty" will work with 140 %, for to be sure that our estimation is not inflated.


-->Then the formula (2) takes the form:


--> /_a = 100,000 /( 0.7(1-b) - 1.4 b ) = 100,000 /( 0.7 - 2.1 b )_/ (3)


-|what is the relationship of the profit /_a_/ of small company depending on the material consumption of production (part of the expenses to the profit) /_b_/.


-->*_The first conclusion_*, that we may draw out of this, is that there *_exists_* /_critical_/ or *_/_maximal_/ value of /_b_/_*, and it is critical because the denominator of (3) turns to zero (and, as all of us have studied in school, it is forbidden to divide to zero) and maximal, because for /_b_/ greater than this value the denominator becomes negative, and, respectively, /_a_/ becomes negative, what has no meaning, because negative money means that the company looses if it works. Put it otherwise, the company begins to work for "that who blows" exactly by the maximal value of /_b_/. In our (most lucrative in relation to the taxes) case this value is: /_b\max| = 0,7 / 2,1 = 0,33_/ or *_33 %_*.


-->Let us now show this relationship in table form:


-->


-->_____b (in %) || 15 | 20 | 23 | 25 | 27 | 30


-->_____a (ths lv) || 260 | 357 | 460 | 571 | 750 | 1430


--> *_Table 1._* Dependence of /_b_/ from /_a_/ .


-->


-->As far as there are no companies with less than 20 % expenses (at least 10 % go for the cheapest advertisement), neither there is somebody with up to such extent "weathered" brains for to earn one and a half millions (working with no gain, because that is what we calculate here!), then it turns that the left and the right end of the table are unusable. (Besides, when the profits are more that 1 mln levs the taxes /_d_/ will be bigger, so that the expression for /_a_/ will be different). In this situation remains the possibility by material consumption /_b_/ of about 25 % to get profits of half a million levs. But these are theoretical results because, practically, there is no such company that will spend less than 30 % (even for freelancing professions are allowed 30 % inherent necessary expenses without supplying documents). In other words, from the stated till here unambiguously follows that *_there are no conditions at all in Bulgaria for small business_* under this inflation level, and if someone, still, continues to perform such activity, than this is either by inertia, or because he simply cannot find a job!


-->


-->At a first glance here is concealed some "magic", because the company must not have all the money for the expenses for the year in the beginning of it, and if it turns 3-4 times the production cycle it will happen that it is possible to work also with smaller amounts in cash (and, respectively, the profit from bank interest in our calculations will fall down), and if the company bakes buns and pies, for example, then it will turn hundred cycles in an year. But in this situation we do not take into account the necessity for availability of stock, and expenses primarily for basic means of production (BMP), where one has to "throw away" at once the money at least for five years in advance and this in very big amounts, where *_the amortization becomes directly eaten by the inflation_*! And if we speak about production premises and equipment (and in our climatic conditions, as it is known, nothing can be produced in the open air) then the period of amortization becomes whole 25 years. And let us not forget that, by an actually pure accounting, the tradesman must, after paying out all BMP at the end of the amortization period, have exactly as much accumulated money as he needs for to by /_the same_/, now practically consumed, BMP product, where under this inflation rate he will have in the best case some 10-15 % of the sum (and for the buildings maybe just 1-2 %!). In this way the company, in fact, pays taxes for gains which *_/_in no way are gains_/_*, but this is subject for additional calculations with which let is not diverge now.


-->


-->So, and in order to convince ourselves that our calculations were close to the real ones, let us vary a little some of the parameters in the formula (2). For example, for a more respectable company the profit tax will be 40 % (i.e. /_d = 0.4_/) and then we get


--> /_a = 100,000 /( 0.6(1-b) - 1.4 b ) = 100,000 /( 0.6 - 2.0 b )_/ (4)


-|and /_b\max| = 0.6 / 2 = 0.3_/ or 30 %, what is even worse, how it has to be expected. (Table for /_a_/ as function of /_b_/ in this case we will not give in order not to bore much the readers.)


-->If for this more "normal" /_d = 0.4_/ take also a more proper personal salary of 25,000 lv nominal in month (or 20,000 lv net in month), then we must vary /_e_/ to 240,000 lv for an year, thing which may be expected to happen as /_prognosis_/ for the next year beginning from October 1996, and then is right to accept /_c = 2.0_/ (i.e. 200 %, hopping that the shocking bank interest of 300 %, after all, will not remain in effect for very long time) and then we will have:


--> /_a = 240,000 /( 0.6(1-b) - 2.0 b ) = 240,000 /( 0.6 - 2.6 b )_/ (5)


-|i.e. /_b\max| = 0.6 / 2.6 = 0.23_/ or 23 % (by /_c = 3.0_/, as it is in the moment, we get /_b\max| = 0.6 / 3.6 = 0.16_/ or 16 %!). This last thing, that /_every small_/ business with material consumption about 20 % *_/_already_/_* is ineffective for his owner, between us said, is /_pure communism_/! It becomes a bit "splotched" by the fact that the big manufactures, obviously (though for other reasons) are also ineffective, when hundreds of companies are privatized!


-->


-->These calculations have been done for trading companies, that pay profit tax, not for individual entrepreneurs (IE), who pay income tax (IT), but in reality the things don't differ much, because for 430 ths lv annual profit, for example, one must pay income tax in amount of 112 ths lv (by the table for 3,500 lv minimal monthly salary), what is tax of 26 %, but if one adds also some minimal payment for social security it comes to 28 %, what is practically equal to 30 %. (Compare with table (4), where for /_b = 0.25_/ we have /_a = 571,000_/ lv gain, or profit before subtracting taxes /_(1-0.25)*571 = 0.75*571 = 430_/ ths lv, i.e. exactly as much as we have just now used by the calculations for IE. Besides, these sums are entirely real as average numbers for IE, if one does not deceit.)


-->Could something, still, be bettered? Alas, there are not rose coloured perspectives, because even lessening of the profit tax to 20 % for the small companies (a thing that hardly some government, no matter of what colour, will allow itself to do, because this makes strong impact on the state budget) will give /_b\max| = 0.8 / 2.2 = 0.36_/ or 36 % instead of former 33 % (other things being equal), so that this has almost no effect on the production.


-->The only way out of the mess is lessening of the profits from bank deposits (i.e. stopping of the inflation and stabilizing of the economy). By /_c=0.5_/, we have /_b\max| = 0.7 / 1.2 = 0.58_/, what now is quite good. In the same time, by /_c=0.3_/, or 30 % (which was the ambition of communist socialists, BSP, but it turned out that these "dear people" -- their beloved addressing to the masses -- have done their calculations without "the barkeeper", as the saying goes) we get /_b\max| = 0.7 / 1 = 0.7_/ or whole 70 %.


-->So that it remains nothing else to us except to whistle the song "The communism is going back and strong embraces people's necks" (there was some joking song "The communism comes back"), because both, there are no conditions at all for whatever small business, and we have become so poor that are left only with our begging bowls (without quotes), with our minimal monthly salary of about 20 US dollars (or less than a dollar a working day, if you like it better so).


-->


-->October 1996


-->


-->*_-- -- -- -- --_*


-->


===>*_OUR PEOPLE AGAIN HOARDED GOODS BY HIGHER PRICES_*


-->


-->The market system exists all around the world for many millenniums now and can be even said that the market is undefeatable as the very life. Saying "market" I mean place, structure, or organization, where gathered together many people, who present something, what is superfluous for them (called sellers), and another group of people, who look for something, what is necessary for them (called buyers). It has existed even in the times of primitive communes, has existed during Confucius, in ancient Babylon, while Socrates and Aristotle were alive, in the times of Christ, Mohamed, Napoleon, Marx, and also in the artificial communist society it was not entirely rejected, but only suppressed introducing price ceilings and various anti-market mechanisms.


-->It doesn't matter how the change of values is performed: goods for goods, goods for service (or relations of any kind), or for some invented specially for the purpose beads, seeds of plants, shells, metal plates (regardless of their character -- of precious, non precious, semi-precious or "slightly ennobled" materials), and also for some specially printed pieces of paper, after the invention of stamping press. (By the way, maybe it is interesting to know, that the words: money, /_Mu:nze_/, /_monetas_/, /_mangizi_/ -- Bulgarian Gypsy jargon --, and others, originate from the name of one fragrant ... herb, useful for peristalsis of the bowels and called /_miata_/ in Russian, /_menta_/ in Bulgarian, or mint in English, where it means also the place where these "mint"-- in Bulgarian also /_ment`e_/ -- is made, because the real estates are the real values.) It doesn't matter also by whom the offer and purchase of goods are made -- by the very interested persons, or by specialized persons or organizations named traders or dealers or brokers (who break the hands of the seller and the buyer, what signifies the end of deal, though it usually is symbolic -- a habit preserve only in competitions on boxing and wrestling).


-->This, what matters, is that *_every market is defined by the very participants in it_* -- we will call them for shortness sellers and buyers -- and for that reason the markets in different countries differ so much. One is the market in London, another in Delhi, third in the Scandinavian countries, fourth in the Orient, fifth and sixth in America or the Far East, and so on. As far as Bulgarian market is dominated by Bulgarians, at least between the buyers (what is a strange thing on the background of this total misery in which we live nowadays), then our market is Bulgarian and, if it has to be qualified with one word only, then this word is "shocking"! I am stating this fact with some sadness, because the shock as medical treatment is applied only in extreme situations, when all other more moderate or /_reasonable_/ methods happen to be useless; it is the /_ultima ratio_/ (last resort, in Latin), and necessity for last measures means that we have lived rather unwise, for to fall in such position. In any event, however, the Bulgarian can be treated only with shocks (and often with no therapeutic effect) and it turns out that he has become used to buy, *_/_either by higher prices, or not at all_/_*, when he waits for the next price increase for to empty his pockets and put something in the fridge. Having in mind that as a nation we are neither more silly, nor more incapable than the Americans, for example, I wish to look more precisely on this our /_market anomaly_/ and find the causes for it.


-->On the first place, of course, stands our *_improbable poverty_*. It would have been more proper to say misery. For this reason a lot of Bulgarians "pounce" to buy the cheapest possible food, so that they even eat up the food for animals. For example, the pork belly (fat with bones) is real delicacy, but our people massively buy also duck "lanterns", bare bones, chicken heads and feet, and other things, which in the times of our totalitarian leader "Bai Tosho" (i.e. Todor Zhivkov) were not to be seen on the market, and prepare them /_for themselves_/, or at least extract the fat out of them. I don't intend to analyze here the causes for this condition (though it, on the whole, is clear that in times of initial accumulation of capital, in which we now have /_returned_/, the capitalism is most cruel and harsh for our long-suffered nation, because "money sticks to money", and for this some "dough", as the folks say, is needed), but to explain to our readers how they worsen the situation /_themselves_/, and at the end to propose some "medicine".


-->However poor we are now we should not forget that the English say that they are not so /_wealthy_/ for to buy cheaper things! In our case it happens that when all demand only tripe, or lard, or heads, etc., then exactly this food will grow more expensive (relatively), because the animals do not have, say, three heads, or five lungs, or dozen feet, so that it turns out that *_the poorest pays_* some *_part of the food_* (of dried sausages, for example) *_of more prosperous_* -- i.e., just according with the saying "the sick carries the healthy"! The only "benefit" in this case is that in this way they can be cheated with smaller sums by some merchants, for the scales weigh weight and not the price (and if the product is cheaper, then they can be cheated less). There is a reason in this, and I have even heard from a fellow-buyer that the sellers are divided in three categories: honest -- such that cheat with one scale interval only; common -- such that cheat as much as the client allows them (usually a hundred of grams), because they don't keep the scales on the zero (or via other tricks); and inexperienced or "adzhamii" in Bulgarian (i.e. in Turkish), but they become gradually less and less. They cheat on especially big scale when "the water is muddy" and people line up in queues and buy with whole bags.


-->Anyway, let us return to the question about purchases: in the moment is to be recommended *_to buy goods of better quality_* and more precisely for the meat -- without bones and even tenderloin (unless you have a pet at home and have to think also about him or her). Another my advice to the readers is to forget, as much as it is possible, about fresh sausages and look for other alternatives -- minced meat, meat (but not pork one, because all are searching it), white cheese, even meatless food. In the "normal" countries a kilo of fresh sausage (and even of good one) costs as much as two kilos of bread, but by us this proportion is roughly four to one (so that it can be said that in this regard we are about two times "more abnormal" than they are). And what concerns the bread, then we should have known long ago that the increased consumption of bread by us is consequence of our lowered living standard, not of some special culinary traditions of our people! So that, by the by, we must lessen the consumption of bread, what isn't a bad idea.


-->One more advice: *_eat nuts_* (chiefly pistachio) -- they are rich in proteins, but are only two-three times more expensive that the bread (if you bake them yourself at home, what isn't difficult to learn); they are the ideal and fast breakfast in any time and one does not get fat from them. (Again is parentheses I would like to mention that the Hinduism forbids the consummation of /_any_/ meat: birds, fishes, even eggs and caviar, because they were the future children of the animals, and this not for a week or two, how it is by our fasts, but /_always_/, while nuts and spices are not limited, what means that the nuts simply substitute the meat, due to the fact that every religion collects in itself the ancient wisdom of the people.) The last touch in this relation: until the black bread is still cheaper than the white -- eat black one, because this will not last for long time! There is almost no country in Europe where the white bread is preferred before the black one and for that reason it costs as much as the black one, but often cheaper (even in Russia it is so, and in Austria, for example, the only more or less similarly looking like Bulgarian white bread is called "Turkish"!).


-->Enough about the question on poverty -- it is not a sin, and even if it isn't something with which we could have boasted, isn't also a thing of which we have to be ashamed. This, what we could have felt ashamed of, is that we (as a result of our totalitarian past, most of all) *_have no market culture_*! We have distorted to such an extent the good word "speculate", that have transformed it nearly to a symbol of the evil, and you know that in the English it means contemplate, consider, and in a bit wider sense is used for persons who succeed to extract benefits from something, so to say, with their pure reason, not with work (production), buying and selling goods. It is spoken also about speculative knowledge, meaning knowledge just as mind game, not as something with which one can derive direct gain.


-->The principal importance of these reflections is that, consciously or not, *_the merchants are those, who keep the market_*! To put it in technical terms, the merchants play for the market the role *_/_of negative feedback in the system_/_* -- a role, without which no system could have existed for long time (more so for millenniums). In other words this means: when something grows, then something or someone must decrease it, and vice versa, in order not to burst the system. Exactly this is what the merchants do when they raise the prices if something is massively bought, for to enable the buyers, if they are "normal" ones, to decrease its buying and in this way to make so that there was /_enough_/ of this thing /_for all_/ (as for those, who have already bought of it, also for those, who have not done this, and for the sellers, too); and vice versa. And "thanks God" that this is so, and our market still holds, even by these shocking prices! Today the merchants sell, practically, only 2-3 days in a month (and get their win), where in the left time they just think (i.e. speculate) what kind of trick to use in order to make the buyers to buy. Naturally, for the sellers is better to have /_regular income_/, what will allow them to make regularly their purchases from the producers using regularly received from the clients money and, as it is said (in Turkish, but this is clear in Bulgaria), the "/_alish-verish_/" was going, yet, if our people are used to buy only on high prices (why -- we shall explain soon), then the merchants are those who normalize the situation. Saying it otherwise -- if it's not possible to manage without shocks then someone has to apply them! Like we this or not, but such is the truth, and the more Bulgarians perceive it, the better.


-->Now some concrete advises for the "enlightened", i.e. for those reading in the moment. There are always several /_alternative_/ products on the market -- say: bread, potatoes, rice, noodles (oat-flakes, if you like), so that when one of them rises -- you just buy another one! In normally saturated market and amidst people who do not /_suppress_/ the market mechanisms, the prices of alternative products move, generally, in synchrony, and the application of this rule is more difficult, but then it isn't necessary to apply it, where the situation in our country is different. Try to recall that when the rice have jumped up abruptly (a la Bulgarian!) in the beginning of this summer, nobody has yet expected that there will rise also the potatoes and, most of all, the bread -- simply the people have decided to buy en masse only rice (like the Chinese) and it has risen until was restrained from above by the international prices (approximately one German mark for a kilo on the average, by retail prices), then it stopped (until the people have eaten it up, and as far as we are not Chinese, after all, then this has continued for 4-5 months) and now it has begun again to go up.


-->Similar was the situation with the potatoes, only with a delay of pair of months, so that those, who have bought themselves a bag of potatoes by 60 lv in August, in November consumed them exactly twice more expensive (taking into account also the bank interest, which in one month have reached 25 %, and also the wastage, which the potatoes give during the storage, especially if they are lavishly nitrated), and now, when they have eaten them and gone again to buy, the prices have risen again. Similarly happened also with the onion. Likewise also with the white cheese, then the meat caught up the cheese and surpasses it (because it turned out that it is more suitable than the cheese for long-term keeping by deep freezing) and the meat reached 700 lv (and later fell to 450 lv, and this for the veal, which is considered better all around the world, and without bones). Now the minced meat stays at "surprisingly low" prices of 350 to 400 lv, or one US dollar, according to the exchange rate in the moment, but what is to be done when the people have filled their freezers, though at least in January it will jump up on 30-50 %, if the meat will not fall lower than 600 lv, what is hardly possible by this dollar rate. And so on.


-->In short: averaged on a longer period of time (an year or more) all /_looks out_/ normal, but before the eyes of contemporaries happen price shocks (or /_skoki_/-jumps in Bulgarian, if you like it better so, but the etymological root here must have been the same). This will not happen if, when the rice goes up, people cease to buy rice and reorient themselves to potatoes, and when the latter rise in price begin to buy bread, or meat, or this, what in the moment is sold at acceptable prices. (By the way, almost nobody knows, that one standard egg must weigh approximately 60 gram, or in one kilo there must be nearly 17 eggs, but in no case less than 16, and without this idea one can hardly compare the prices of protein products.) The rule is extraordinary simple (but, as it is known from ancient times, the world is full with paradoxes and the simplest things are accepted with utmost difficulties) and it is the following: *_move at counterflow to the others in the market_*! Inasmuch as people nowadays believe to no one, there is no danger that all will begin to move at once in counterflow, so that your success is guaranteed.


-->The more curious thing is that in this way you not only will help the /_others_/ (what is true, but it is also true that the human being has never been altruist in his nature), but that you *_will help also yourself_* not to buy on high prices (exactly in the same way as the merchant, who is entirely indifferent to the interests of clients, turns to be the backbone of the market, which is designed and profitable mainly /_for the buyer_/). If the things have not been really so mutually linked, then the market wouldn't have survived till the present days.


-->The situation is even more drastic on the *_money market_*, no matter that there they are pretty obvious and one could easily become oriented in the tendencies (or trends, if we don't want to fall behind the contemporary Anglicization on Americanization of Bulgarian language). As it turns out, in this year for roughly eight months the hard currency has already risen in price six times, where in the same time our lev in the best case (in government securities, GS) have done this approximately two and a half times (what means that there are different kinds of "mint" and some of them have not at all good effect on the Bulgarian stomachs). This, what is obvious in this case, is that in the change bureaus and banks are written both courses (buy / sell), and this, from what they profit, is /_not the price_/ -- low or high (that everything is relative was clear to the people long before Einstein has declared his meaning on the question), but /_the difference_/ between both courses, where no merchant will begin to explain to you on which prices he has bought his goods -- this is his own domestic cuisine/*. Then, if we proceed from the purely Bulgarian rule of the /_Shopp_/ (around Sofia), that "I don't want that I feel good, I want that my neighbour Vute feels bad", it becomes entirely obvious that one must buy hard currency *_/_when the traders win least of all_/_* from this, i.e. when the margins are narrowest. This is really justified because then you are most convinced that you buy the product (currency) on its cost price, where otherwise, when the margins are 20-30 lv, you, surely, fill the "throats", or pockets, of change dealers.


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-->[ * Well, in the interest of truth, approximately two years later we have become witnesses of the curious decision that the sellers were forced to write also the prices on which they have bought the goods, but surely has sprung up someone from the West to whisper something in the ears of our rulers, because after a month this apparent quirk has been hushed. ]


-->


-->Together with this the situation with the change of money (or shares) has its specific tinge, namely: as long as one can not predict exactly how the rates will develop, the people divide in two opposed categories (rather according to their way of thinking, for their goals are exactly the same -- maximal gain) -- the ones are such who buy when the prices go up, because they set on continuing of the tendency, and they are called /_bulls_/ (for the reason that these animals strike with their horns upward), and the others are such who buy when the prices fall down, because they hope that the tendency will now change, and they are called /_bears_/ (for the reason that the latter strike with their paw downward). Though this does not change our former reasoning, because here it goes about speculative buying, about investment of /_free_/ funds, about /_playing_/ on the money or stock exchange, and no one on the West will spent his last savings on such games, especially when the margins are about 10 %. (Only that from here one may conclude that our nation consists mainly of "bulls", "cows", or calves, in short -- of /_horned cattle_/, but as far as this doesn't sound nice for us let us not make this conclusion.)


-->In brief: now isn't at all moment to buy currency (who has wanted could have bought himself in previous years, when nobody hindered us and we could have changed up to 2000 US$ in an year, what exceeds all savings of majority of Bulgarians, especially their one-yearly savings by average working salary, not in this disastrous year, of 80-100 US$; or then wait a pair of months more), unless we wish to make easier the realization of Money Board via even higher impoverishing of our nation (lessening the sum of money which has to be guarantied)/**.


-->


-->[ ** And it happened later exactly so, of course. ]


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-->The last distinguishing feature of our market from the markets in countries with normal market economy is obvious remnant of our totalitarian past, and this is our *_constant fear_*, that something on the market will end. /_Nothing_/ ends on the market, with the exception of people's money! And this fear compels the Bulgarian, especially who is in advanced age (but half of the buyers are pensioners) to buy always on higher prices, because otherwise they would have become even higher. It is true that everything becomes more expensive (because our lev devalues with frightful speed), but not before the personal reserves of people decrease and it turns that, for one thing, they have bought things on high prices, and, for another thing, they will /_again_/ buy dear, when they finish their supplies! Besides, it is /_naive_/ to suppose that an average citizen will happen to be cleverer than the merchant, who is occupied only with this, and as far as the buyer also /_speculates_/ in his own way (because when he goes to the market he thinks how to spend less money but to buy more things, i.e. also to extract personal gain), then neither part has rights to accuse the other one.


-->So that, dear readers, think of yourself and don't buy high-priced goods and in big amounts, in addition to the things for direct consummation. Do not bother much about your poverty, be wealthy in spirit! Buy at wholesale only when something turns to be cheap, not when you are used to do this (there are habits, but there can also be "dishabits", as our folks say). At least one third of the people can do their pickles for winter (when we are so poor that make alone pickles) in time /_different_/ from the others at least by a month and, hence, will buy the fresh vegetables cheaper. Buy alternative products -- in this way you will buy cheaper, but also will /_variegate your food_/. Don't buy the most cheap product at all, because in this way you buy more expensively, due to the increased demand. Buy the cheapest thing in the moment, not what you have gone to search, and don't think that if a thing becomes a pair of days cheaper then it will continue to become more cheaper, because when you wait in this manner, say, a week and decide to go the next day /_really_/ to buy, then it will turn out that it has risen in its price, on account of the fact that you are /_part of the market_/ and, most probably, are one typical representative of the buyers and your insignificant influence has become quite important. In other words: *_don't hinder the market, for not to allow it to impede you in its turn_*!


-->Do not forget the brilliant thought of great Ostap Bender (from the book "The Golden calf" of Russian writers Ilf and Petrov) that: "Salvation of the drownings lies in the hands of the very drownings!" There is much more truth in this joke than in the heap of phony "truths" that you may hear today at any time. Because this is, in fact, rephrasing of the old rule: "Help yourself, and God will also help you!".


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-->December, 1996


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-->*_-- -- -- -- --_*


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===>*_TOO GOOD IS NOT GOOD!_*


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-->Say our people, and one has to believe a whole nation, because it is cleverer than its politicians, if not for other reason, then because it has lived much longer than they have. Besides, there hardly exists nation where similar saying is not present, as much as this is a variety of biblical "over-holy saint isn't loved by God", so that this wisdom is common for all mankind. And its application here is about our euphoria of the Money Board.


-->


-->If we consider the things in chronological order then the *_first_* conclusion, which we should have made (if we are capable at all to make conclusions), is that if we have had some mutual understanding and strong hand (instead of our "pl/_ju_/ralism", for example, where in Bulgarian "/_pljuja_/" -- and "j" is read as Latin 'i' -- means to ... spit, here on the others), we could have alone made some kind of Money Board, because, surely, nobody has made such board to Germany, or USA, England, France, Canada, or some of the Scandinavian countries, but are made boards to countries in Latin America and /_some_/ of the former Socialist Bloc, i.e. to countries where, by one or other reason, /_lacks strong central power_/. And we could have even made ourselves such board, that the Americans would have begun to be envious of us, because this, what has had to be guarantied are /_*_not_* all_/ circulating in the country money, but only the current income for everybody, like salaries and pensions, and even not all of them but only some /_part_/ of them, for the bread and sausages are sold not for foreign currency!


-->Having in mind that the expenses for salaries in a decent company (with at least 20 persons staff) do not exceed 5-6 % of the turnover of the company, and accepting the rule to be paid in hard currency only 1/3 of the salary, it turns out that the necessary currency amounts to /_only 2 %_/ of the turnover. Similarly has had to be proceed with the salaries in budget institutions, and also with the pensions and scholarships, which have had to be partially paid in hard currency, where for this purpose could have been used, if necessary, the blocked currency means from the fallen in bankruptcy (farsightedly, in the times of our communist leader Zhan Videnov) banks, not because this is rightful, but because these money the people, anyway, can't see for the moment and receive them only in tranches (portions)! Naturally, after advanced estimation, could have been relied also on new loans from the West. In any case, our average salaries in democratic times were somewhere about 50-80 US$ (where they have fallen below this, but never have risen above 120), and the pensions were roughly equal to the minimal salaries, so that as average income of a Bulgarian can be taken 60 dollars per month (this, obviously, is increased estimation, but let us calculate in the worst case), or 1/3 of this gives 20 US dollars. This is the amount, which our country should have been able to pay on the average to every citizen receiving salary or pension from a budget institution, in hard currency; the above-mentioned "decent" companies definitely could have been able to ensure about 2 % of their turnover in such currency (how they also do this somewhere on their own).


-->The condition for the possibility to introduce such Bulgarian Board could have been merely to perform the estimation of our salaries not in absolute money units, i.e. not in levs (and even not in some hard currency), but as coefficient to the minimal monthly salary (MMS) in the country, which, so or otherwise, must have been often corrected in the Parliament, where in very turbulent times this could have been done even each month. What concerns this coefficient, then this approach is long ago used in practice (even in the times of our "Bai Tosho" have existed uniform staff tables, only that their usage was compulsory, but the rejection of compulsion does not mean that these tables should not been used with recommendatory character -- in the same way how the exclusion of religion from ruling of the state during Renaissance does not mean forbidding of religions at all --, neither rejection of the use of a suitable /_one-dimensional_/ scale for comparison); similar tables are used by retirement, also by labour syndicates. If one is appointed to work with 1.78 MMS, for example, and if it is known that 1 MMS in the moment is equal to, say, 50,000 lv, then there is no problem, neither for the accounting department of the company, nor for the very person, to compute his (or her) salary for the given month and how much hard currency he has to receive. In doing this it looks natural that he will receive 1/3 of his money in levs as advance payment, another 1/3 again in levs as salary, and the last third in hard currency (it doesn't matter when) in order to make savings, if he wants (and if he can), up to whole banknotes, and what remains is to be transferred in the next month.


-->This, about what even the Americans could have been envious of us, is that there are no problems (except the desire, of course) to compute the hard currency as /_combined_/ in equal parts from three main currencies, by 1/9 MMS for each, so that when one of them rises and another falls the citizen will lose nothing (as far as this is called money basket it turns out that in this way each Bulgarian will slowly and diligently "weave his basket"); it could have been made even so that by the monthly announcing of MMS its corresponding parts are expressed in each of the currencies (according to the averaged for the last month price) and in levs -- for alleviation of calculations. All this /_could have been_/ made (but it was not made -- because too many democrats have gathered on a small place)!


-->


-->The *_second_* thing, which can be seen also with a naked eye, is that /_if some board_/ was at all /_necessary_/ to be introduced, then this could have been done /_exactly one year earlier_/, or in June 1996, because even in May last year the dollar has risen twice above its set till that time value of roughly 67 lv for 1 US$, and when something changes two times each normal person must begin to think (weaker changes usually are not felt by people)! Only that then the red (i.e. the former communists) have not allowed a single thought about board to penetrate their minds, the blue ones (i.e. the democrats from the Union of Democratic Forces, UDF) were not in position to do this, and the other colours of rainbow, figuratively speaking, did not "spin the wool". The situation is very similar to that when a man courtships some damsel for a long time but always unsuccessfully until it was young girl, and his desire becomes reality after some 25-30 years, when he by inertia "seduces" her, but then she does not expect this at all and out of excessive desire to go with whoever man happens lies down at once.


-->It is true that one usually does not what should be done but what /_can_/ be done, but it is also true that the main thing that distinguishes the intelligent person (or party, or nation, if you like) is that he does exactly the /_necessary_/, or does nothing at all! For twelve months our national currency devaluated, roughly speaking, 12 times, so that the West bought us exactly /_dozen times cheaper_/. And mark that here I don't accuse the West in anything, because it (or they) waited with big endurance for us to begin to ask it genuflected on our knees, as if it has no interest at all in introducing of this Board and does it out of pure unselfish charity (in the same way as a masterful fisher does not begin to make noise to the fishes and invite them to go out on the strand to look what a tasty thing he will give them, but just throws some ground-bait to them and threaded the bait on the hook -- if the fish becomes alone caught on it than this is its personal "democratic" decision).


-->Anyway, after March the dollar has calmed down enough and followed only the normal for our country inflation of approximately 50 % in an year and it was clear that it has nowhere else to jump, because the free market existed (via the change bureaus) and people have succeeded to spent their "totalitarian" levs -- this was a natural process, something like the ripening of a /_purulent pimple_/, for example, which simply must mature in order to pass; suppressing this process was not clear where this could have conducted us. The red have succeeded to establish some speed of 2 to 3 times yearly impoverishment (taking into account the devaluation of our lev and the interest from government securities and deposits in the still left banks), what more or less ("awry-left", as we say) harnessed the situation; the people were to such extent dumbfounded by the big interests on their deposits and were not at all in condition to calculate how much they were /_losing_/, but there is nothing to be done, the /_capitalism requires capitals_/, so that they were to be gathered in the hands of richer ones, and the poor ones (who knows why?) had no desire to give willingly their money! Then, if we continue our analogy with the pimple, it might have really happen that one, walking in the yard, slips on a, I beg to be excused by the readers, fresh cow thing, and falling down sticks his hand with the pimple in it, after which wiping from the hand adhered to it "dirt" he, in fact, will smear better the pimple with this new "ointment". If on the second day after this happened that the pimple now heals, it is normal that even a clever man (more so our politicians) will imagine that this is the best medicine in such cases, isn't it?


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-->Till here it comes out that if the Board does not help us much, then it at least does not harm us. But this is not so because there emerges a *_third_* thing, which is also obvious -- the Board exists, hence it "feeds" on something, and this, naturally, are the poor Bulgarian people. If we take that there are engaged only one-two thousand persons in it, where the half of them are, either foreign financiers, or receive salaries like for foreign financiers, this means that their salaries have to be somewhere between 1,000 and /_5.000_/ US$, and if we take not the average but the minimal such salary as basis, then even a first-grader will calculate that a thousand by thousand makes a million green American dollars (not highly suffered Bulgarian levs, having shrunken not to centimes but to "millims"), and this each month and nobody knows for how long. So that the Board definitely harms, all the time!


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-->The *_fourth_* obvious thing, which also is not a plus, is that the Board /_is pure enslavement_/, because without its approval we not only can't execute our national financial policy, but are forced also to correct, as a number of financial standards, also quite many social and political aspects of our ruling (they might have not been ideal, but they now /_again_/ will not be suitable for us). One politician, or large-scale ruler, can now not, so to say, go to the toilet, if he has not the consent of the Board. The latter becomes one additional big owner in the country, together with the state, or, as is often said, a state in the state, or rather a state /_over_/ our state, and this owner begins now to buy everything that can be bought, for pennies, because when one has nothing to eat one sells literally everything out. The Board buys our banknotes, but it does /_not need_/ them at all, so that it hurries to get rid of them buying shares in companies and banks, homes and buildings, machinery and equipment, because it works on its own business account, or works only /_for gain_/, like every other company! This, surely, will continue until it succeeds to convert our money in goods for itself, and/or Bulgarian money will become one small part it its assets. This, that the state is the biggest exploiter of the population, is known from the times of ancient Rome, or ever since the state exists as institution, but this should not arise whatever doubt at least in the people who have lived under the totalitarianism, where it was the only (and for that reason the biggest) exploiter; now emerges another one and superior owner -- God help our people! And again, of course, the very Board is /_not_/ to be blamed, because: who can accuse the cat that it eats mice? This is, saying it in Latin, /_in rerum natura_/, or in the course of the things.


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-->The *_fifth_* thing for everybody, who has lived at least five years of his conscious life in Bulgaria, and at least half an year in some normal Western country, is that the Board is simply /_not good_/ for us in various aspects, because our, let us call it original, Bulgarian, view to the world and way of life rejects many Western settings and principles. As much as we try to enter in Europe we are, still, Orient (or, if you like, "hybrid" of Europe with the Orient). The clever people have long ago come to the conclusion that Europe ends where people begin to ... drink our (i.e. Eastern) /_boza_/, to say nothing about our tastes on coffee, bread, women, if you like, songs, and so on. For the Board, however, the economic indicators are important, so that let us speak about them. When on the West they lessen some price this is done at least on 25 % and normally on 50 %, because otherwise nobody will buy the thing, where in Bulgaria the word "cheap" has directly magical effect (and, by the way, this word in Bulgarian sounds like 'evtino', we pronounce it like 'e/_f_/tino', and I suppose that this is related with the Turkish /_kaif /keif /kief_/ meaning ecstasy), but at the same time /_real_/ diminishing of some price by 10-15 % is a rare phenomenon, to say nothing about higher one. Although in Bulgaria the prices are around the Western ones, they, nevertheless, remain approximately two times lower than there (with the major exception of the prices on homes, which are as much high, if not even more, like those in the very center of Europe -- in Vienna, for example). This is to be explained with our exceptionally low living standard under the democracy -- not so low as in Albania, but, after all, our state begins not with the letter "a", but with the next one, so that it is normal to expect that we will be on the second place in poverty. The salaries by us are not a pair of times lower than in the normal Western countries, but somewhere in /_30 to 50 times_/ lower, and the Bulgarian works a whole month for less than one /_daily_/ salary on the West.


-->As a result of this happen, and will happen, various different market anachronisms; by us are sold, and will be sold, products with lowest possible quality in the region, people feed themselves with any kind of garbage, what makes it possible for the price of cat and dog food to reach the prices of white cheese (the main milk product in Bulgaria), and even higher; in Bulgaria does not exist, either open to the world market, or the old centrally ruled supply with goods, when people had at least accessible for all /_quantity_/ -- now, despite the relatively high quality of some products, the population massively consummates products with lower quality than in the times of our "Bai Tosho", and this on significantly higher (in proportion to the average working salary) prices.


-->Naturally that, according to the Board, by us the situation should have been such, that, for example, a kilo of bread was equal in its price to a kilo of sugar, or like liter sunflower oil, or like two kilos rice, or even as much as /_half_/ a kilo fresh sausages; that one ticket for the city transport costs as high as 8-10 eggs; that a kilo pineapple was equal to two kilos apples; that one egg was as half kilo of potatoes, and so on, but for the moment this is hardly achievable in Bulgaria and must exist also some additional control over the prices (like, e.g., different taxes on sheep and cow white cheese -- because the cow one is not very tasty and is much of everyday type, or for the common folks in these hard times --, or lower prices on bread, etc.), what hinders the market. Our market has its specifics and the normal relationship, as it seems, must not differ much from that under the communist socialism in which we have lived (because on the West people have long ago built their socialism, though very often don't call it so), but this is /_not this_/ relationship which the Board dictates us. On the background of this expensiveness for our people (but otherwise abnormally /_low_/ in relation to Europe prices) the homes are unrealistically expensive for the conditions that they propose, for one thing, because they are not enough, and for another thing, because they are the only real matter in which people can invest their money, and which can't be stolen from them.


-->As it was expected, the Board must have given somewhere a "crack" -- not in sense that it is impossible to perform it, or to maintain, because we have up to such extent devalued as a nation, that now everyone can buy and sell us -- but meaning that its existence does not lead to something very good for us! By one real inflation in Bulgaria of 50-60 % in an year (or by 5 % monthly) a bank interest of 5-6 % /_yearly_/ (not monthly) is as funny and ridiculous, as March temperatures in December, to give an example. The Board must have stopped the inflation of prices, but it just tied the lev to the German mark, though the prices continue to rise, and they will continue until they reach the prices from the times of "Bai Tosho" by the old basis of one totalitarian lev (tlv) equal to one US$ (98 tot. cents = 1 US$, if we want to be more precise).


-->By the contemporary basis of 1,800 democratic levs (dlv) equal now to 1 US$, was necessary to expect that, for example: the bread has become 900 dlv for a kilo (the white bread after the last corrections of prices under "Bai Tosho", in order not to explicitly rise in its price, has remained again 40 cents, but has become 800 grams, what gives half a dollar for a kilo); the cow white cheese has reached 4,600 dlv, and the sheep one -- 6,500 dlv; the good meat (pork and veal) -- 9,000 to 10,000 dlv, and the mutton -- about 5,000 dlv, then the chicken should have become about 5,000 dlv/*, and the decent minced meat should has risen to 7,000 dlv (and this tendency surely will show itself when the people cease to hoard white cheese and begin to buy more meat -- somewhere about October, November, probably); the sunflower oil must have to stop at about 2,000 dlv per liter; the sugar too, but it is not excluded that it remains for a long time below 1,500 dlv, because we have good own production; the rice, surely, has risen (and even surpassed) its ceiling of 1 German mark; the eggs are moving to their normal price of 220 dlv.; the potatoes must be 20-30 cents or about 500 dlv; the onion will even this winter reach 1,000 dlv and will stop; and so with other goods.


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-->[ * Later on this happened, and after our inclusion in the European Union (2007) these prices (converted to euros, because then the dollar fell down much, due to the war in Iraq) have risen even higher. ]


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-->There, where we have our own production, the prices must be derived from the totalitarian prices, and where they are established from abroad -- based on the international prices (for example: bananas -- 1 US$, coffee -- from 4 to 5 US$, tea, black pepper and other spices -- 7-10 US$ pro kilo, etc.), where the /_minimum_/ of both variants is taken. It is true that we speak here generally about foodstuffs but according to the well known by us rule for sportsman, that "the result of wrestling is determined by the food", it turns out that everything follows the prices of common foods. The important thing is that the Board tied our lev, but did /_*_not_* tie the prices_/, i.e. has not stopped the inflation, as our people expected/**. To say nothing about our bad luck in this that, after being used for decades when saying hard currency to understand US dollars, we have decided to tie us to a currency which had begun alone to devaluate with frightful speed, as if we succeeded to pull down with us also the German mark, as have done with our country.


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-->[ ** Well, after some time the inflation stopped, because the people have had no more money to buy whatever, but this does not at all change the above-expressed judgements, because our prices simply forced low price for the US dollars and in this way isolated us form the West, like in the totalitarian times. This isolation of the market and the Bulgarian (when he travels abroad), in fact, is the only real gain for us from the Board, looking at this from a distance of 3-4 years. But these unreal prices, i.e. the contradiction in price of hard currency according to the Board and that one, which we could have had by a really free market for our products, is severe blow over the production and also gives somewhere cracks, like for example by rising of the prices in year 2000, which has begun with the eggs, has gone through the meat, and from there to other goods. Besides, the communal expenses should have also significantly jumped up, according to the Board, what is again bad for our people. And so on. ]


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-->Under market regulated economy everyone must buy as much as possible, in order to create working places for the other people around him, but the Bulgarian, the poor he becomes, the more he economizes his money, so that the poor (in their way) merchants just wonder what to do in order to make the people buy, because, however demagogically this sounds, but /_they_/ are those, on whom in the moment our economy lies, and they wholly deserve to be erected to them some monument (on the place of that of the "former" Soviet Army, for example -- and why not, when it is so ornamented and defamed, how happened with many others, let us call them, "cultic" buildings?). Instead of this the folks spit on them from every side, and so they are just /_compelled_/ to do something (well, due to the care for their pockets, surely, but the "point" is exactly in this, in a well maintained society -- that everybody looks after his own interests, but from this /_all_/ benefit!). They, naturally, have understood that the Bulgarian either buys expensive, or does not buy at all (the damned anxiety neurosis and ignorance of main market mechanisms) and are now ready to sell him everything thrice more expensive, just to make him buy, but it comes the Board and freezes bank interests, and the people, instead of to rush to buy what only they can (because: what need is for them of the left totalitarian levs, when wherever they keep them they only lose?), they begin to quieten and decide anew that the cheap is expensive for them and wait until the prices jump again up, for to hurry then to buy again. In other words, The Board is Board, but we are Bulgarians!


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-->The *_sixth_*, now /_not_/ obvious thing, which again speaks bad about the Board, is that it enslaves us not only in the moment, but for the future, alike the rule, that who is born in serf family alone becomes a serf! I mean that the major part of money the Board will invest in various banks, and by this low interest percentage is supposed that, sooner or later, people will wish to take loans, but this loans are not given, say, on showing of diplomas or after making fair promises, but against mortgage of property/***. In the normal countries is supposed, maybe, that at least 10 % of the mortgaged property remains in favour of the banks, but by our "green" capitalism in the epoch of initial accumulation of capitals, I am afraid, this percentage will reach 30 %. But even these citizens who will not be ruined (and companies, surely, but I think about personal property of the wide majority of /_tiny_/ firms which sell something in their cellars and various corners of the streets, and make mortgage not on a second or third home, but on their family one), signing long-term loans, in fact, enslave their children to pay the money with /_future_/ work! This is entirely real perspective, because this second state in our state is, indeed, a big owner on the market and we, want this or not, are bound to take it in consideration. ( The economists will maybe protest to this and say that this is not really so, for the Board does not buy anything /_alone_/, but this is just another mistake, because the West has not gone mad to give us money for nothing and again nothing, i.e. /_someone_/ buys our property and banks and so on. Hiding the /_concrete_/ persons under the form of some association does /_not_/ eliminate the consequences of their activity, but we are used to see some escape goats or a concrete state, which owns us, and if we can not show such objects we think that everything is in order. O, sancta simplicitas! )


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-->[ *** The wave of massive loans offered by all banks has begun about 2005 and this enslaving in now fact. Naturally, it is fact also on the West, because in the society of common prosperity the easiest way to enslave someone is to allow him to live for some time in abundance and then threaten him that he will lose everything, but there the things are more or less balanced, people don't wager everything they have, the unemployment and uncertainty in life are not so high as by us, so that we again happen to be victims. Even if all things are done properly, by us again everything becomes messed due to the disregard of local conditions. ]


-->


-->The *_seventh_* and last minus of applying the Board in Bulgaria is our attachment to other markets, or more precisely to those of highly developed industrial countries, to the "Great Seven" (or ten, or twenty, if you like), what is the intimate desire of the stronger on this world, a thing for which were led World War One and especially Two and were given millions of victims -- by the simple reason that the stronger countries could have not come then to mutual agreement how to divide the world! It turns out that the thing was very simple, and was necessary only for the Great Powers to grow a little /_wiser_/, in order to apply in dividing of the world the principle of joint-stock company, where instead of having the whole Bulgaria in its real borders for one country, for example, to take only some /_ideal_/ parts of it (there only the peasants by us think that ideal parts of something is a bad thing, but in the city not a owner of apartment in multi-storey building dreams to make a claim on a real part of the lift for him personally, or to raise the slogan "For every citizen his own lift!"). Attaching us to the German mark we do not become province of Germany, in territorial sense, because it is not known (and even if it was known then it is not of our concern) what is the German percentage in our Board, but who has to receive his dividends surely knows this.


-->And mark that the bad thing for us is not just in this that we change one market for another one, though even if it was only this there would have been again problems while we become accustomed to the new situation, like, for example, when must be performed transition from moving on the streets on the left side to moving on the right one, because the transitional period is the most perilous (as we all must have been convinced in this for the recent years). In the given example there are no reasons for preferences, except the inertia and the habits, where in our case the market of the former Socialist Bloc, especially of contemporary Russia, differs radically from that of the developed Western countries, first of all in /_commensurability_/ of the things. We and Russia were, and now also are, commensurable, not only as Slavonic countries, but as relatively similarly /_lagging behind_/ in our development status, where we were even in more privileged position of better supplied country (due to our nearness to the center of Europe, where to we strive), and also less in its size and, consecutively, easily manageable. Whereas for the West we were and remain (especially in the last democratic years, where instead of to rise in its eyes we rather compromised ourselves) on a position of "poor relatives" (poor -- obviously, and relatives -- well, we are not Rwanda, after all).


-->This does not mean that there can't be some useful symbiosis between ourselves and the West, but that it will be obviously (at least for the author) of lesser use, than if it was performed with some other commensurable with us nations, like: Russia (in the above-explained sense), Turkey (as our stronger neighbour, and also ethnically close for a substantial part of our population), the Arab countries (for which we were and remain a good connecting link with Europe, or if you want trampoline for them, and they are, contrary to us, not at all poor), the Far East (as equally aiming to the Western civilization countries, on a relatively equal productivity level, though they exceed us in many aspects, and equally exotic from the point of view of, say, USA), the European countries like Poland, Czech Republic, Slovaks, Macedonia, and others. But we have preferred, as in the saying about the frog and the buffalo, to heave the foot, for the Western "smiths" to nail us also a horseshoe, because their "horseshoe" is more lustrous! Well, they "horseshoed" us, but this will all the time draw us to the bottom, or to the "cellar" of European house, if you like it so better. We, definitely, will now not become agricultural appendage of the "Euro Reich", because in this dynamical times the things change very fast and nowadays agriculture turns to be ecologically the purest and accessible for development everywhere (even in the cosmos, as is said, and surely much easier in North Europe or America) activity, but we can quietly become its chemical and, generally, industrial appendage, and biological factory for white slaves! I don't state that the slavery is /_such_/ a bad thing, because it has existed for millenniums on Earth, but, still, in another historical period and ... it's a pity that we were caught so easy -- without any fight, but there is nothing to be done -- the democracy requires victims!


-->


-->And the *_single plus_* (for us) from the Board is that, when we can not govern ourselves alone, we have found our "master", as we like to say. So that, it may occur that every cloud has a silver lining, and we may be, for one thing, white slaves, but at he same time are now democrats. Congratulations!


-->


-->August, 1997


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-->P.S. For your information, Hungary has only in 2001 allowed investments in foreign currency and legalized the money market, and for that reason they have no Board, neither needed one.


-->


-->*_-- -- -- -- --_*


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===>*_ARE WE FREE, OR ON THE CONTRARY?/*_*


-->


-->[ * It is published highly shortened version of the material (chiefly of the first chapter) on the 8th page of Bulgarian newspaper "Continent" from 02 Nov. 1998. ]


-->


==>*_I. Ascertaining of the enslaved condition_*


-|as subordinated and degrading condition of compulsion to do this, what other states dictate us, not what we could have wished as a free nation. It must be noted that nowadays the slavery is significantly evolved in comparison with the time of pharaohs, for example, and is expressed mainly in /_economic_/ compulsion, but as far as the capitalism is power of capitals, then also the compulsion is proper to be only economic, or such that in the end enhances our economic dependence. Despite the fact that this dependence is not always perceivable it existed and is something like the remote control in electronics, yet this does not make it weaker, just more concealed and, therefore, more treacherous! But let us list the most important features of this enslavement:


-->


=>*_1. The external economic enslavement_*


-|is expressed chiefly via the foreign debt of the country, which must be now somewhere about 1,500 US$ per capita (when it goes about several /_times_/ the exact calculations can only disorient us). It has not grown absolutely more than on 35 % in foreign currency in the democratic years, but taking into account that in the last totalitarian years one minimal monthly salary (MMS) was roughly 200 US$ (not only according to the official rate, but also in relation to its purchasing power, or measured with some consumer basket), and the average salary was about 350-400 US$ (and a working person could definitely buy himself, for example, a /_whole ton of milk_/ with his monthly salary, if only he wanted), and under all of the last Governments MMS has varied about 25-30 US$, and the average -- between 60 and 80, then this shows lessening of about *_/_seven times_/_* of our ability of paying out our foreign debt by the transition to democracy (i.e. before it was about 1,000 US$ per capita or roughly 3 averaged working salaries, and now it is nearly 2 /_yearly_/ salaries).


-->


=>*_2. The internal economic enslavement_*


-|is expressed in possession of property in our country by foreign people and organizations. The so called inflow of capitals by us, naturally, is expression of enhanced economic dependence, but here it does not go about small sums or percentages of our national wealth so that to discuss the point, and when you give everything valuable what you have in order just to survive, this is pure enslavement. In the first half of 20th century the well developed industrial countries have led devastating wars for to divide between themselves the influence over the lagging behind countries; they were then /_quite "silly"_/ for to reach agreement as gentlemen and have resorted to the /_ultima ratio_/ (or the last means), though they have preferred that the others "pulled the chestnuts out of the fire". Now the Great Seven (or how many they are there) have simply decided to apply to the dividing of the world the *_principle of /_joint-stock company_/_* and have built various international financial institutions, where they can invest their free and not used in the moment capitals, and with their use to buy "ideal parts" of many, left much behind themselves, countries. Even if we also have some advantages of their help they have much more advantages (political, and from here also economic, and the peacekeeping forces of United Nations cost much money), but this does not change the fact that we are bought, and, hence, enslaved. All foreign capitals in Bulgaria mean export of capitals from us across the border, not only influx (initially).


-->


=>*_3. The choice of incommensurable with us master_*


-|is the next characteristic of this enslavement. Here it goes about changing of Russophilic trends in Bulgaria with Russophobic, what could have been questionable thing if we were Eskimos, for example, but as far as we are Slavs it is logical to choose for us Slavonic "center of rotation" (or "bigger brother" if you want). When we wished so much to run away from the "gravitation" of the Russians, then why have we not adhered to the Czechs (which were leading country in Europe before World War Two and now are again manifesting themselves as such, and, besides, they are also Slavs and Cyril and Methodius in their time have gone from our lands and come exactly in theirs); or, if the ethnical side is not so important, then to the Turks or the Arabs, because they also, like us, want to enter in Europe, only that they are much wealthy than we are, but in recompense for this we /_live_/ in Europe, so that we have common interests (and in addition to this by us approximately 20 % are ethnical Turks and roughly as much are Gypsies and such orientation would have been quite natural)?


-->Anyway, it is clear that such small country like Bulgaria can't be entirely independent from the others and must turn around some greater power, but it is very important that there existed some commensurability with the master, in order, figuratively speaking, to can sit down with him at one table, and in the time of Russian "domination" of our country only by us from all socialist countries were not placed Russian army troops, and the whole Russian population considered us as "utmost their" people. As in one team of horses the most discontented are the stronger and faster horses (because they are who do the major work), and most of all gain the smaller and weaker horses, so also from the socialist "horse team" *_we /_only gained_/_*! At the same time now, however politely behaved toward us, the Americans, Germans, French, and so on, their relations to us can be only such of a patron to patronized person, and these are relations of cultured slave owners to their slaves, or, if you like it better so, of /_caring master to his cattle_/ -- they will feed us, and water us, and entertain us with various contemporary media, and will give us all their old things (still working but obsolescent for them), because it is a pity and not Christian to throw something useful away to the garbage (where to give it to some pauper is another thing -- in this way one can at least earn some indulgence for the afterlife), and will give us present-day technologies for to make it possible to develop our chemical industry and other harmful branches, and will help us even in the nuclear energy (because when something happened by us the wind asks nobody whereto to blow), and will also beat their breasts and trumpet that they do this only out of sincere love to democracy. *_Never_*, though, *_will they accept us as brothers_* (and be it as bigger brother to the younger one -- why not, when it was really so?). Albeit more backward in regard of living standard than United States, for example, Russia is, still, /_great empire_/, which is respected by this very US, but for us now this isn't so and we prefer (in our foolishness, for there is no other explanation) to be slaves, instead of to sit at one table with the Russians (what does not necessarily mean that we must "gulp their broth", because we can alone mix our own concoction).


-->


=>*_4. The selective emigration_*


-|of most capable and pushy part of our youth in the developed Western countries, the so called "*_brain drain_*", is the next point in our examination. While in totalitarian times there were much talks about this but it was not mass phenomenon, nowadays there is not much noise but roughly half a million Bulgarians (out of less than 8 mln), mainly young, are permanently (more than 10 months in an year) out of Bulgaria. Gathering of the elite or "cream" of a nation is guarantied method for placing it in dependence on others, and the fact that the "cream" only gains by this does not mean that the country does not lose! All programs for help in the science and education in our country on the part of the West are directed to attracting of young and talented Bulgarians to their countries, what, under the situation that our living standard now is /_30 to 50 times_/ lower than by them, means that at least 3/4 of them will afterwards emigrate in the developed countries, and those who return, if they are still in reproductive age (and if they are older than 35 then the West, as a rule, does not accept them, neither for study, nor for emigration), leave there their offspring. In a sense this means that we are becoming, so to say, /_factory for genetic material_/ for the developed countries, what is even *_worse than the /_enichars_/_* in times of Ottoman Rule (young boys taken to be trained for soldiers), because then were taken only very young boys (for them to be easy to forget pretty soon their parents and serve faithfully the new masters, a thing, which by the exceedingly high mortality rate in that times, was accepted as natural disaster), while now emigrate already brought up and of full age citizens, in the interval of 18 to 25 years, when their parents can not thing about more children, and the state has, in one or another degree, taken care for them and has all reasons to require some repayment of the investment.


-->


=>*_5. The tragically low living standard_*


-|is the next moment that in maximally direct way supports the increase of economic enslavement. However bad we have lived earlier we have never reached such, worse than "African", level of living standard, and our minimal salary has not fallen below 80-100 US$ in month, while now we have reached even to the curiosities of less than 20 dollars. It is clear that when it goes about survival we are ready to kiss hand (or whatever they give us), only to secure our everyday bread, but exactly by such low standard of life comes the most dangerous and long lasting slavery. More than this, when the state deducts taxes from people with tragically low incomes, then it can't find anything (or finds almost nothing) for the traditional state sectors like: education, healthcare, army, forces for keeping of internal order, strategic sectors, sciences, unprofitable but needed industry, even agriculture (because who has some arable land he does not work it, or sows only for himself, and who has no land he has nothing to cultivate). The poor person can be bought by everybody and exactly in this way the Board has bought us, where the irony of the situation is in this, that we even have /_begged_/ it on our knees.


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=>*_6. The adoration of everything foreign_*


-|(also called xenomania), is by itself expression of obvious discontent of the individual from the environment in which he is placed, but this is also another sign of enslavement, because there is no slave who is contented with his situation and will not be from the "others". As a small state we have often tried to accept something from abroad, but, having in mind that we have given the world Slavonic alphabet, to fall so low not to want to buy, were it clothing, we it even toothpaste, if it is labeled in Bulgarian, and to fill our language with a heap of foreign words, just /_because they are foreign_/ (not because they are better than our Bulgarian ones, and, you may bet, not because we are much cultured, when very often write them with Bulgarian letters), leads to gradual *_assimilation_*! And by this I don't at all think that the major contribution of Cyril and Methodius was in the devising of the alphabet (because this is just some symbolic, combination of Greek and Latin letters, a thing which even /_hinders communications_/ in present days), but in the /_preservation of Bulgarian spirituality_/; neither am I speaking against foreign languages, just against the spiritual enslavement of our country. It may be silly to be proud with everything ours only because it is ours, but this is at least natural, where to be ashamed of everything ours (again by the same reason) means reconciliation with the slavery.


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==>*_II. Causes for the enslavement of Bulgaria by the developed countries_*


-->It must be obvious that the enslavement (without any reasons for this) became possible only *_through the fault of_* our *_transition to democracy_*! First of all, out of reasons of general character, is clear that, as by the people, so also by the states, are possible two ultimate conditions in regard of the freedom -- one is the whole independence of the others (or anarchy), and the other is total dependence of the stronger (or dictatorship). But this implies the evident conclusion that under the utmost freedom of personality (respectively, of state) reveals himself only the stronger one (in one or other aspect), where under the dictatorship the more stronger suffer at the expenses of the weaker ones, what may not be quite correct (right /_recht_/, etc.), but, in recompense, is /_justified_/ (different, left, i.e. what remains besides the right -- such is the etymology of these words and it is good to remind it, because in Bulgarian it is not like in the other languages -- for us the right side is called "/_djasna_/", and the right things are "/_pravi_/" or "/_pravilni_/", i.e. the roots are different)! But the weak people (or states) have also their right of existence (because the diversity is the most precious thing in our world, which makes it interesting). So that it was clear (and this was proved) that from the former Socialist Bloc Bulgaria, above all, has gained, while now we, generally, lose, due to the fierce competition with the other countries.


-->But let us look at the reasons more profound and divide them in: internal and external, and also in objective and subjective, as it was done for many centuries. The external causes are these, which are outside of our country, and, naturally, we can consider as external objective reasons this, what is out of the abilities of people, i.e. some natural disasters like spontaneous conflagrations (as in Australia, for example), or earthquakes (as in Japan, for example), or landslides and floods (as in China), or stories like in Chernobyl, or such droughts where for 3-4 /_years_/ in succession does not fall a drop of water (like in some regions of Africa), and similar things. It is clear that nothing of the kind has befallen our heads (except some industrial accidents, due to incompetence of the management and grown old equipment, but even they have not exceeded ten human victims). We live, really, in a blessed by God corner, which, however, have succeeded for the initial democratic years ruin to such an extent, that maybe now even God could not succeed to help us more! The next causes are external subjective, i.e. some foreign enemy, some country has declared war to us, or at least has /_intended_/ to do this -- but then it must have been mad, for in such case it should have been obliged also to feed us!


-->What regards the internal objective causes, then these could have been some civil wars (as in our western neighbours, for example), but even this has not happened in Bulgaria (thank God!), maybe because we are peaceful people and by us still existed one good (although defeatist) saying that "the bent head is not cut by the sword". Be it as it may, but the national question, about which was much noise in its time, has passed away peacefully and quietly, and this, that some people have panicked -- well, there is, generally, nothing good in the panic --, and quite many Bulgarian citizens have left our country -- well, but in the recent years much more Bulgarians have done the same. There remained only the internal subjective causes, i.e. that some evil dictator or gone crazy monarch has remained for so long on the throne that he was not to be moved from it "even with a cannonball" -- yes, but no, because for the last democratic years we have changed whatnot governments, have tried also with caretaker ones, and without governments at all, but the damned governmental cart still does not move properly! We have not changed before his term only the President (well, we tried it in the beginning of 1997, yet he did not want to leave the post), but this is because we have given him such "feeble" powers, that he can only rename some street or other.


-->And, for to finish with the causes, let us give one more argument -- the comparison with the others ex-communist countries, as our brothers in destiny. If we look around us in Europe we will see that in the given moment we live as if worse even than the Russians, who, roughly 30 times more than us, must be also very difficult to be governed, but it is not exactly so. And about the other European countries like Czech Republic, Slovakia, Poland, Hungary, and so on, there is no need to speak, but well, let us leave them -- they at least are nearer to the "navel" of Europe (to Vienna). So or otherwise, but for the moment we are on the second place in poverty after Albania (in what there is some reason, for they are before us in alphabetical order, right?). As it happens in practice, the free democratic development of Bulgaria is mainly /_harmful_/ for us and will be such until does not emerge some stronger (dictatorial) structure, that will unite the weaker strata of population and support them. But mark: not structures in which leading role play wealthy and developed Western countries but /_vice versa_/! While we try blindly to enter in Europe we will continue to stay at the end, and when we enter then will only confirm our outsider position/**.


-->


-->[ ** From 2007 this became reality. ]


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==>*_III. The way out is possible_*


-|only through actions in the opposite direction, i.e. *_via strengthening of the dictatorial principle_* in governing of the country. It is worth to remind you that the truth (already since the times of Ancient Greece) is somewhere in the middle, and to speak about /_pure_/ dictatorship or democracy is at least naive and childish. Neither our totalitarian ruling, especially after the 60ies of this century, was genuine dictatorship, nor our contemporary situation is pure democracy, so that the question is not in the name -- it usually is one-sided -- but in the core of the things, and the very existence of Presidential institution is already expression of dictatorial elements. Maximally pure democracy has existed in Ancient Greece and for this reason it has /_not lasted_/ very long and was changed with dictatorship (called then tyranny), so that /_the changing was performed *_in the time_*_/; generally speaking, when one can not find the middle point in a given aspect, then he willy-nilly, /_finds_/ it, but swaying to the ends, so that, averaged in the time, arises illusion of the middle point! The contemporary democracies, since a pair of centuries in England, and now all around the world, reach this compromise via combining of incompatible things, i.e. of dictatorship with monarchy or with Presidency (where the President is an easily changeable Monarch). And let us stress that the democracy is ruling of people (with all their human shortcomings), but chosen between the whole nation, i.e. just the pool (and you know that this means also a puddle) is enlarged. And let us also not forget that the *_democracy_* in ancient Athens was introduced /_precisely_/ by the Tyrant (such was the title of rulers in those days) Pisistratus, what means that it *_is advantageous for the rulers_*, too!


-->In other words, if in the moment in Bulgaria is more advantageous to strengthen the dictatorship, than there is nothing bad in this, because the talks about democracy have started from the stronger Western countries /_for to weaken us_/ and make us easy prey for them and they have /_already_/ done this, so that if we can counteract somehow to this tendency, it is to be done through its contrary one. Depending on the strength of this impact, which is, generally, in direct proportion with the speed of changes and in inverse one with the quietness in the country, are possible the following variants:


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=>*_1. Gradual "bringing to reason" of the system population-politicians_*


-->Let us first clarify that it is accurate to look at the people and their politicians as a system (something like the /_egg and hen_/), where each of both parts shows influence on the other, because, as says one Latin proverb: silly people -- weak state! This method is the slowest and it can continue for centuries (and it continues, because there is not a state on the West where its politicians were this, what they are bound to be, and in which have not happened, from time to time, various muddles, or in which the democracy has not been fiercely criticized by its eminent personalities). Some success in this regard is seen even in our country, where roughly 1/4 of the population /_does not vote_/, but this is the normal situation in other countries, and as far as we are not from the "normal" ones then everything normal is not very normal for us, and in order to become such is necessary for this percentage to reach the half/*** of all voters! Slowly and gradually our people see that the democracy is something like football match, for example, and if you like it then you can watch it, but if you are sure that it will be the same boredom like the last time then it is not worth trying to attend to it.


-->


-->[ *** And this, that now every second person does not vote, means that every second Bulgarian is openly against the system, and I would have added that out of the remaining half of the voters again every second does not agree with it, but does not dare to declare this in the open due to misunderstood (and officially propagandized) patriotism or civic duty. The biter truth, however, is that our people at last, after more than 10 years, were disappointed and have begun to sober up from the "democratic euphoria". ]


-->


-->Little by little the politicians also in Bulgaria begin to differ mainly by the ties and colour of the shirts (as on the West) and not by something radical in their platforms, but the bad thing by us is that there show up primarily the drawbacks of democratic system (first of all that many people /_hardly_/ can take reasonable solution). Putting it otherwise, *_the democracy is maximally ineffective form of ruling_* and the meaning of its application is mainly in providing spectacles or shows for the people, not in this to really perform some governing (where in each Ministry, besides the politicians, exist also persons who do the needed work), but when the survival of a nation with 13 centuries of history is at risk is necessary to leave the shows and do the work, for to be possible for all rulers to draw the state's chariot in one direction (preferably the right one), not whereto each one desires. So that, instead of to try to bring the people to ballot boxes, it is better (and exactly that is the reason why this is not done, because it is more correct so!?) to leave the people *_/_not_/_* to vote when they see no sense in this, for the politician is like every /_actor_/, he can not play on a empty scene! In other word: *_if we want to support Bulgarian democracy we /_must be against it_/_*, and this is not a demagogy but the natural course of evolution of the things, and that is the reason for the existence of opposition -- in the counteracting of the ruling parties. Only that here we are speaking about contradiction to the /_whole_/ ruling /_system_//****, when exactly it is that "skids"!


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-->[ **** And this, that now /_every second_/ person does not vote, means that every second Bulgarian is /_openly_/ against the system, and I would have added that out of the remaining half of the voters /_again_/ every second does not agree with it, but does not dare to declare this in the open due to misunderstood (and officially propagandized) patriotism or civic duty. The biter truth, however, is that our people at last, after more than 10 years, were disappointed and have begun to sober up from the "democratic euphoria". ]


-->


=>*_2. Strengthening of the Presidential institution_*


-->This is a matter of legal settings and presents stronger social impact in the right direction, but, as if for the moment, nobody in Bulgaria gives a thought to similar decision, and with each flowing year it becomes more important. The division of powers and the requirement for not more than two Presidential mandates is quite sufficient in order to secure us from the other extremity, out of which we run, as is said, like "devil from incense". It is not so important how the President is being chosen, will he have blue blood (or dress in blue shirt, for example -- what is allusion to our blue UDF, Union of Democratic Forces), the important thing is that he personified the dictatorial principle in government, that he looked like patriarch of father of the nation (well, it might also be like mother, if she happened to be women), that he was allowed to dissolve the /_Talking Shop_/, I beg your pardon, the Parliament, and appoint new elections when he shows a desire, as also to set tasks for it and deadlines for executing, that he has right of veto on each decision of the State Assembly (Bulgarian Parliament) when sees it necessary (and not just once but many times), that he was consolidating personality with big experience of life, not in youthful age (he is not, in the end, neither sportsmen, no wunderkind, no Christ, to be in his age), and so on. The powers of our President are such, that he is more symbolical figure than the Queen of England in the past century, only that then existed by them also House of Lords, who were neither without rights, nor incompetent, and who watched that the "plebs" have done no harm about which later all would regret. In short: the democracy is a good thing, but without centralization there is no go!


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=>*_3. Military coup_*


-->This is the roughest impact in this direction, but when the democracy does not take necessary measures (the former point) and the population turns to be very weak (the first point), then the only remaining way for strengthening of the dictatorial principle in democracy happens to be the very dictatorship. This would have been not very surprising in our conditions, because our people are used to extreme forms of action (like shocking therapy, for example), but it is wrong to think that each dictator is a wicked evildoer, like the serpent from the fairy tales, because such person will not be in position to rule for a long time. Most often *_the dictators are fanatics of a_* given *_idea, which is /_supported_/ by_* a significant part of *_the nation_* and if the historical moment requires brute force instead of empty debates, and if the masses are pretty intemperate for to search a compromise solution, then they support in their souls /_each_/ dictator! The cruelty of dictatorships comes out usually /_of the very population_/, not of the dictator, and in addition to this, condemning the dictatorship, we must not forget that /_the reason of big cruelty is in this to *_prevent_* people_/ from necessity /_of bigger cruelties_/! Each power has to be respected for its strength, otherwise there is no meaning in its existence, so that it is logical when one does not respect it to suffer from this, more so because the dictatorship comes after the condition when the democracy has proved to be incapable to cope with the situation (and it has happened exactly so till now in the human history). In relation with this I would have even said that the main advantage of the democracy is in this, that /_only it_/ can convince the masses that there is /_something good in the dictatorship_/, likewise as the main advantage of the dictatorship is in this, that it succeeds to make people believe that there is something good in the democracy! For the born approximately before 1960, who are able to compare both variants, the above statement must be conscious (but, maybe, not expressed in words).


-->And let us one more time repeat, that who can not find the middle point in some aspect, then he /_again finds it_/, but in result of many fluctuations and averaged in the time, because, as states one /_Shopp_/'s (around our capital Sofia) wisdom: "What is needed, it requires itself"! The difference is only in the social price of the transition (or the peacefulness in the country).


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==>*_In conclusion,_*


-|If we come back to the initial idea about the *_economic enslavement of Bulgaria_* by the wealthy Western countries *_without any reasons_* for this, *_except the /_democratic delirium_/_* of our folks, and if we want to stick to the reasonable middle point, is necessary to remark that the slavery has also its good features, especially if the masters are civilized people or simply good hosts, because they will care for us, look that we were satiated and did not rebel, and in this world the stronger always keeps the weaker subordinated, and this is one natural process, something like the ailing or growing old, no matter whether we like it or not. ... Only that we *_/_will not be free_/_*, and in such cases is accustomed that one /_fights_/ and overcomes -- the illnesses, and the stronger masters -- because the freedom is so sweet a thing (as people have understood long before that moment when Don Quixote from La Mancha has indicated it to them)! Otherwise our assimilation has already begun: via emigration, via ethnical increasing of "swarthy Bulgarians" (i.e. Gypsies, because the educated is rarely born and more difficultly brought up), via mixed marriages with Western people, so that the /_Bulgarians_/ in Bulgaria progressively decrease in number.


-->Naturally, any prognoses for longer period ahead are perilous, because nobody knows how long the existing tendencies will remain unchanged, but if we rely only on the first way out of the situation it is entirely possible that after about 10 to 20 years the citizens of Bulgaria will stop somewhere around five millions, out of which ethnical Bulgarians will be roughly two millions, and also about two millions Bulgarians in nationality will live outside the borders (where for half a century more they will come from time to time as guests to us). It is true that the humans on the globe have become so many nowadays that any reduction in their number will have only beneficial effect in /_global_/ for the planet scope, but, still, the question is: why exactly we should do this when we are so few? And is it necessary, when our state has existed for so many centuries, and we have sustained so many foreign invasions, to surrender us so easy and exactly now, when there are no other reasonable causes for this, except that the wealthy western counties *_have changed the policy of the "stick" to that of the "carrot"_* (according the well known saying)? And, anyway, instead of only to speak about democracy (which is just a matter of legal settings and which existed by us for seven years), isn't it better to restore our stable state, which we had during the totalitarianism?/***** Otherwise we will remain slaves, no matter that our distanced economic chains are not to be seen, because slave is who fulfills everything that his master tells him to do (and not who, just for example, has less lions -- which are our symbols, they are present in out state coat of arms -- on the lapel), and other countries will "collect our offspring", when it reaches maturity!


-->


-->[ ***** Well, you may be sure that our "free-living hayduk Sider" (as I call him -- Volen Siderov, but "/_volen_/" means free, and we have had some hayduk Sider in the times of Ottoman yoke, leader now of Bulgarian fascists -- but don't get agitated much because he has never gathered more than 7 % of the votes) was not familiar with this material, yet he would have approved it, eventually, only partially (as the devil the Gospel). Still, the expressed here ideas have clearly "floated in the air". ]


-->


-->October 1997


-->


-->*_-- -- -- -- --_*


-->


===>*_POLITICAL GRATITUDE/*_*


-->


-->[ * This material against the Union of Democratic Forces (UDF) can be observed as politically engaged, but the truth is that not a single political force has rewarded the author for this his "engagement", so that it would have been more correct to call it /_anti_/-engaged. In any case, it must be clear that if UDF has not hurried like "calf before its mother", as is said, to perform the transition to democracy, the communists, as they have begun with the perestroika, so for 10 years till the moment would have finished it and forgotten about. Yeah, but the dissidents would have been again left with finger in the mouth, right? And that's the point. ]


-->


==>*_1. I thank to UDF so much,_*


==>*_That pushed they us just in the mud,_*


-->


-|because, if in general each change is dangerous, then the most dangerous is the /_hasty_/ one, and if there existed exceptions of this rule, then these are such cases where the transitional period is very painful but after it we expect happy "paradisiacal" live (like, for example, when we have toothache and the aching toot must be taken away). Only that by us neither the process of transition proved to be shorter than some /_reasonable_/ transition, nor the "paradisiacal" live has already come, when our average level is still roughly 7-8 times lower than what we had in the times of our totalitarian leader "Bai Tosho", and if there is a question on which all political powers have consensus then this is the thesis that under the totalitarianism was bad (in fact, /_if_/ we give credence to UDF that there is nothing worse than the communism, then it comes out that /_the democracy is the utterly worst thing_/, at least for Bulgaria -- from what follows that "the devil is not so black as they paint him", or that one should not believe to what UDF says, or, eventually, both things). Besides, about to the question of living in the paradise may be argued, be it because the notion "paradise" is not less utopian than the communism, be it because, if the democracy was the best thing on the world for all times and countries, it is not clear why we should have waited whole 25 centuries for to it come to us from Ancient Greece, when we are their immediate neighbours.


-->However it is, though, our people patiently endure shock after shock: be it in prices; be it of loose moral; be it of unpunished crime; be it of paid education of healthcare; be it on the question about possibility for personal enrichment on the background of poverty-stricken population; be it that selling us to wealthy Western countries we will have greater gain than if we associate with nations of similar with our affluence in economic aspect and/or with alike languages; be it because it is better, as our writer Ivan Vasov has put it, "to go wander in countries foreign"; be it the most heavy shock -- of meaningless life, because the personal enrichment has never been something especially worthy for the generations, except for some eminent UDF ideologists; and so on. And it happened so that, after we have long ago "reached the bottom", we continue to dig deeper and deeper, "dumbfounded" by the myth about democratic paradise and having lost every orientation! But one does not know what is better for him until it does not happen even /_worse_/, for what I, with all my heart, *_/_thank UDF_/_*!


-->


==>*_2. To UDF my adulations,_*


==>*_That made us fools before all nations,_*


-->


-|because if earlier all countries of the former Socialist Bloc were with more or less similar standard and hardly someone could have supposed that, at least in economic regard (i.e. judging by the devaluation of our lev) we will turn out to be approximately /_1,200_/ (one thousand and two hundred) /_times_/ worse, and not the Germans, or Americans, or Frenchman, etc., but the Czechs, who are also Slavs as us and the brothers Cyril and Methodius starting from our lands have gone directly to theirs, and they were forced first to solve some national differences, but they have "divorced" so civilized, that even the Western democracies have taken their hats off to them, while in Bulgaria (thanks to the UDF, of course) the term socialist (and if you like read it like "communist") still sounds obscene, though people all over the world more than 20 years now (at last) have understood that bad are /_*_not_* the communists_/, /_but_/ the conditions which have brought them to power, i.e. /_the capitalism_/, and have engaged themselves (much earlier) to reform it, because, wish we this or not, but the "ghost" of communism has gone around the entire world and for long time the socialism is reality on the West, only they don't call it so.


-->If the question was only in the moral aspect, i.e. what meaning put UDF-ists in the notion communist or socialist -- OK, this is only human (saying that their human malice makes its way out) and maybe they are not to be blamed, for they don't know what are speaking and doing, but they simply have decided that when it is difficult to converge the communism to contemporary capitalism, then they can just return us /_back in the time_/! And they succeeded! No normal person, when he decides to raise a new home, does pull down the old one not having at least a plan for the new, and having not provided himself with "temporary home", where we destroyed everything: governing of the country, trade unions, army, forces for maintaining of internal order, education system, healthcare, church, our relations with other countries, morality of the folks, and what else not, and continue to live "/_in tents_/".


-->Our democratic revolution, since our people fell in "delirium democraticus", under the influence of prominent dissidents (i.e. people who have not /_sat_/ themselves well, judging by the Latin origin of this world) and pop singers (maybe because the scenes for singers and for politicians are similar, were just the "show" good and brought it heaps of money), was performed according the plan of rural feudal revolts of Middle Ages -- it was necessary to pull the king down, but who will take his place, we will think later. It was important to create /_chaos_/, and the order will come alone by itself; it was necessary to muddle the water, for to catch the tiny fishes (and the bigger, too). But if there were not our UDF the world would have never seen to what extent unorganized we are, nor our people could have perceived how bad a thing /_can_/ the democracy be, and for all this I most enthusiastically *_/_thank them_/_*!


-->


==>*_3. And UDF reached funny goal,_*


==>*_It sold for nothing us at all,_*


-->


-|because, if there was necessary sometime to fix the rate of our lev (for it turned out that the free market is a good thing, just /_not_/ for our lev), then it was hardly necessary to do this exactly when we have become so poor that there was nowhere more, and has begun never heard of before in human history thing: when our humble currency /_defeated the US dollar_/ and it fell down /_whole two times_/, after the moment when, as a result of massive UDF demonstrations in January 1997 for /_national ruination_/, called, /_exactly for this reason_/ (?), meetings for "national salvation", it has reached absolutely unreal prices -- inasmuch as each currency is a kind of "mint" (what the English speaking readers know quite well via their two meanings of this word) and its price depends first of all /_on the confidence_/ in it, and what confidence can one have to a country where live people who can not sleep quiet if, either not set fire to some public building or other, or at least not smash a pair of windows on it (for there were left no more monuments for "repainting")?


-->So that, if, therefore, we should have sold ourselves at all, then it was hardly necessary to wait until our democratic lev has shrunken, even not to cents (one hundredth of a normal monetary unit), but to have become as "millims" (one thousandth, or one /_milli_/-German-mark -- but in Bulgarian "milinki" are a kind of small buns baked in a bunch), and only then to call the "auction", because the Money Board is just selling out of Bulgaria to wealthy Western countries, joined in international financial institutions but on the principle of /_joint-stock company_/ -- i.e. where the profit is divided according to the invested money, and it doesn't matter which exactly part of Bulgaria is already possession of USA, which of Germany, which of Canada, and so on (in the same way as when one pays rent for a flat in a multi-storey building, or buys it, he is not interested which exactly part of the elevator is his own and can he fit in it). Something more, this was such a deal for which the currency was /_not_/ paid in full, it was only /_promised_/ to be paid if there will be necessity of this, because this Board, by God, has no need for our money (neither is it a charity organization) and now it (i.e. the Western capitals which stay behind it) simply changes them, buying where finds some cheaper company, house, piece of land, et cetera.


-->As a result of this we are in the moment better only than Albania, but this is not clear how long will last, because since the Board has /_fixed our poverty_/ on a less than one US dollar as minimal daily payment we have not big chances to "shine" with something good (now we are not more in condition to "beat" the dollar, for example, due to the fact that this is not allowed to us, else we could have done it long ago, by these low prices -- compared with the international -- of many basic foodstuff and other products) and it happened so that at the moment *_we are moving /_from poverty to misery_/_*, what we call democracy! It is very easy to say that the communists have taken abroad all the money and ruined Bulgaria, and "Bai Tosho" has made our debts, but if one tries to scratch a little his head it is possible to "scratch out" the thought that our external debt under the totalitarianism amounted, in fact, to approximately three average for the country salaries (about 1,000 US$ per capita, by nearly 350 US$ average salary, because then one lev was equal to one US dollar -- to 98 US cents, if we want to be more precise -- and this was /_true_/, if we compare it with the prices on bread, milk, meat, transport, housing, etc, or with some consumer basket, how it is done), and now it has reached 25 (/_twenty five_/) average salaries (about 2,000 US$ by average salary of 70-80 US$), or it has /_grown roughly *_eight times_*_/ for less than eight democratic years!


-->Not one of the many tiny private companies (where work less than 10 workers and it has less than, say, hundred thousand dollars actives) were built with democratic money and not with "totalitarian" (the other bigger companies, with the exception of left here and there state ones, are now foreign ownership). Neither the socialists wanted that we turned our backs to the single Slavonic great power (because /_if_/ Russia was not a great power, and this /_according to the West_/, the latter had never have changed the policy of the "whip" with that of the "carrot", as the English put it). But then, if there were not the UDF, our people could have never come to the thought that we can become so poor as we are now (I have in mind Bulgarian possession, not such that is in Bulgaria but is not ours), and grasp how bad it is when "you have not a cow but want to drink milk", and are left with the only possibility to "stay and look" (according to one our proverb), so that I thankfully *_/_genuflect before the UDF_/_*!


-->


==>*_4. So after UDF has won,_*


==>*_Morality by us has gone,_*


-->


-|because there are two things which make out of a group of people inhabiting one and the same territory a *_nation_* and these are *_uniting_* in two aspects: *_in the /_space_/_*, i.e. the commonality of interests between all of them, independently of the differences on whatever parameters, the feeling that one lives not only for himself and for his personal benefits, the feeling about the /_other one close to him_/, on whom he can rely to do some work for him, not only to deceive him being a big swindler, the consciousness of national unison (not of ownership, for example), the wish to make our country a better place to live in, not just to look at the foreign possessions (goods, social structures, habits, etc.), for they will always remain /_foreign_/, in general, the wish to do something good in the relations between people, not bad one, not to spit on the others and contempt persons thinking otherwise (or just thinking /_about_/ the others); *_and_* also uniting *_/_in the time_/_*, i.e. the consciousness that the human is just a fiber in the canvas of history, that life has existed before him and will exist after him, no matter whether we will call this rebirth, afterlife, bright future, or with other names, but this will be our own future and we must learn how to live in it and /_for_/ it, it must give purpose to many "meaningless", from the point of view of the current moment, deeds and join the generations, not oppose them and divide, in short -- must create one dynamical structure, standing on the already reached, not denying it entirely (for the reason that, in his narrow-mindedness, he can not understand its meaning)!


-->Without such unity can't exist a nation but only some gang, herd, or flock, where each one looks just how to "fill his gizzard" or to cheat his neighbour, while the development of personality is guarantied better when it is in the interest of society, not on the contrary. And this can't be reached without some /_ideals_/, i.e. without something /_nice but unattainable_/, because if an ideal can be realized then this means that it is not really ideal, it ceases to be more ideal! Such are the ideals of equality (when the very God has made us different then we can /_not_/ be equal, else we could have been no humans but robots or clonings, what, however, does not mean that we should not create equal /_opportunities_/ for expression), of freedom (the absolute freedom is not only a fiction, but it is contradiction in the definition, because it hinders the others around us, so that the freedom is just one permanently changing point of equilibrium between our wishes and those of the others), of brotherhood (it is not only impossible, but also wide away from the best, because the closer are the links between given persons, the deeper are the contradiction between them), and so on. But without ideals one can not live, because, as far as he is not God, he /_must_/ have before himself goals, in order to know where to move. And at the same time the UDF has just taken our human ideals of thousand of years ago, substituting them with some, not invented, but imported from the West, notion about *_democracy_*, which /_neither is, *_nor can_*_/ someday *_/_become an ideal_/_*, by the simple reason that /_it is reality_/ -- in a sense that in Bulgaria we have democracy since at least 1991, and this by the acknowledgement of the /_very West_/, for this is a matter of legal settings!


-->If we want to be accurate, then we have had /_some kind of_/ democracy even under the totalitarianism, but not in the contemporary meaning of this notion, although, as far as everything in the world is a matter of finding of equilibrium in every moment, we may argue a long time about the point, was it the best one for our country -- we can argue, but /_*_not_* prove_/, at least because we have not had the so called "control group", i.e. there were not two Bulgarias -- one really democratic, and one "totalitarianly-democratic" --, for to were able to decide where people have lived better! But we can still see (well, /_if_/ we can do this, of course), that under our democracy, at least for the moment, we live worse, and this /_*_not_* because_/ some natural disaster has befallen us, or some other country has declared us war, or a civil war has broken (as it happened in other post-totalitarian countries), or some incapable dictator has sat for a long time on the throne (the truth is even such that not a Government has led till the end its mandate), or then, in the end, we have come to the democracy after devastating wars and national catastrophes (as it was when we have started to move to the socialism), not after prolonged period of the so called "stagnation" (i.e. peaceful and /_happy_/ development) and with quite normal foreign debt of three monthly salaries per capita.


-->This, that some people in Bulgaria don't like our democracy and say that it is /_not yet_/ "real" democracy, is like the crying of a small child, when his (or her) mother spanks him for some bad behaviour and he yammers that then she is not more his mother, not because she is not such but because she in not good to him, according to his understanding, and, hence, she can't be his mother for a mother is always good. But who has said that the one thing is necessary related with the other? So, and to our question: if we do not like our democracy, then this is because we can not yet find the suitable for us democratic form of governing, due to the fact that the imposed to us by the West is not good for our country as a whole (and in addition to this it is not appropriate also for the individual). In any case: *_democracy we already have_*, but stating of this fact is not profitable for UDF, because if this is so, then *_this Union is /_not at all necessary_/_* in our political life. All parties in Bulgaria aspire for some democratic form of governing (even if in their names the root "demo" is not explicitly present), and this, what we /_now_/ do not have more, are ideals and living goals, amalgamating us in a single unit, because we have forgotten the fable about Khan Kubrat and the bundle of sticks, have forgotten the slogan written above our National Assembly ("In the unity is the power"), have forgotten everything except how to beat our breasts and cry aloud that we are democrats!


-->And something more: if we take for granted that the socialism, and the fascism, and the communism, and the capitalism of past century (or the end of this 20th, if it comes about Bulgaria), and the present-day capitalism (because it, anyway, has drawn its conclusions, from the great economic crisis having begun in 1929, and from the World Wars One and Two, and from the existence of the world Socialist System and its /_victory_/ on the stage of peaceful coexistence, /_despite of_/ its disintegration as outlived its time but having /_bettered the capitalism_/, for if it were not so the wealthy Western countries would have never lent us a hand, or would have not changed the policy of embargo and cold war, or the "whip" about which we have spoken) are all different forms of capitalism, then it was obviously very unwise to move from the pole of centralized state economy at once to the other pole -- that of the fragmented and small private property -- only to become convinced that the power is in the joining of capitals, or that it is /_impossible to have capitalism without capitals_/, and when they are not enough (for it is not necessary to be economist in order to know that we are small, poor, and, due to its position at the crossroads of different paths, often plundered country) then the solution is only in diminishing of the number of owners! We as if have understood this (let us hope so), but after we have sold ourselves off to the foreign capital and have ruined everything what was possible to ruin, including the morality of the nation, but then: how else we /_could have_/ learned this, if there was not the UDF to make us do so many /_foolish things_/ in one go, for what I with my whole conviction *_/_give my thanks_/_* to it!


-->


-->Let remain and survive in people's memory the name and deeds (if not as good example, then at least for /_edification_/) of UDF, JDF (Joined Democratic Forces), BDF (Bulgarian Democratic Forces, maybe?), FDF (Friendly Democratic Forces, I suppose?), and what else succeeds them! Let every evil be for good, as our folks say and (help God) we become wiser at last, because when God will punish somebody He first takes away his reason! In the end, it is well known from ancient times that there is nothing new under the Sun and the world has always moved forward because of the collision of good and evil, and then (if we wish to be just) /_the evil is equally necessary_/ for our future movement to the good, so that *_/_let us give our thanks to UDF_/_* for this, that it teaches us what is bad and what we /_must not do_/, if we wish to be good!


-->Because *_the good people are_* /_not_/ our followers, but just those *_who think first about the /_others_/_* and then about themselves; those who are glad when the others are glad, not when they alone benefit in detriment of the others around them; those who know that life is unjust and /_exactly for this reason_/ it has to be done just; who know that right is not the stronger (he, in fact, is /_not at all_/ right, he is just strong) but the weaker, and even the stronger (when he is strong) must work for the weaker, not vice versa, and that our world is sufficiently complicated for to allow to each one to look only at himself without taking the others in consideration (then he simply does not think about his future). It does not matter whether one comes to these truths by the way of belief or by the way of judgement -- the important thing is for the person to be good! Otherwise we not only lose ourselves as nation (though with 13 century of history), but in addition to this must /_again_/ return to the socialism, yet this time as slaves of the wealthy countries! Because, want we this or not, but *_the future belongs to the socialism, and the democracy is /_only an instrument_/ for reaching of this goal_*!


-->


-->ºººThe world can not ahead proceed


-->ºººIgnoring doing of good deeds,


-->ºººSo that the UDF, its belly,


-->ºººWill burst in pangs of bitter malice./**


-->


-->[ ** How it also happened, it dissolved itself bit by bit, approximately about the year 2000. But, in the end, guilty are not only the leaders of UDF, guilty is the entire Bulgarian population, which has called them, raised them up, and still endures them. (The case is more or less similar with the question: why the prostituting women paint themselves so, that from a distance could be seen that they are, I beg to be excused, whores -- well, because the men like such types of women!) ]


-->


-->January 1998


-->


-->*_-- -- -- -- --_*


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===>*_NEO-MALTHUSIANISM, OR RATIONAL JUDGMENT/*_*


-->


-->[ * Published on page 27 of "Continent" newspaper from 28 Aug. 1998 creatively modified, in order to fit in one big page. ]


-->


-->Exactly two centuries ago in England was published one brochure of Thomas Malthus which was significant chiefly for his cardinal conclusions about the difference between geometrical progression, with which the humans propagate, and the arithmetic progression, with which the production of foodstuffs grows, and by this situation up to the current moment all people on the globe should have been dead for long time like a swarm of locusts having eaten to the roots all grass or green bough on their territory. Like almost every assertion, based on /_extrapolation_/ of some temporary dependence but without taking into account the possible changing of the tendency (or the trend, as it is modern to say now in Bulgaria, because this is English word and, hence, seems more fitting to be used), this also turned to be erroneous, because, as one old Christian proverb says, "man proposes though God disposes", and it has happened so that "God" has allowed also in the sphere of production of food and other essential goods the geometric progression to begin to function, as also has "taught" the humans how to make condoms and other contraceptive means, which are to break the geometric progression in the population growth, but, somehow or other, we have still not died like locusts (yet it is not to be denied that we have very successfully tried to do this in other, /_more contemporary_/, way -- with the help of nuclear weapons, for example -- and this danger is not entirely eliminated).


-->Yeah, but this is formal interpretation of the warning of prof. Malthus, and if it has turn wrong then this does not mean that his /_fundamental ideas_/ were erroneous, and these ideas are that there *_have become_* just *_too many people on Earth_* and they have begun to hinder one another pretty actively, because their "hunting territories", if we use this zoological term, intersect. The new moment, on which we shall dwell here, is that people can hinder one another even when their hunting territories are very rich and reasonably fixed (what is yet far from being achieved on a global scale), so that they again come to some insurmountable obstacle, and this time it is the *_/_informational ceiling_/_* of human intellect, reaching of which brings the people "out of the rails" of their set from centuries behavior, because the main moment, which has baffled the expiring 20th century, was, to put it in one word, the /_multiplication_/!


-->It has begun in the beginning of century with the conveyor of Ford, has continued with the automated and robotic systems in manufacturing, with the penetration of industrial methods in agriculture, has allowed creation not only of powerful and super-powerful weapons, but of weapons for /_mass destruction_/ (or for "holocaust", in order to convince the readers that the author also knows some "modern" words), has expressed itself in applying of industrial methods in education and sciences, what has transformed the latter from creative activity in real productive force, so that now in almost every area we speak about /_technologies_/, was created a whole arsenal of substituents or "ersatz" products, be it of food, be it of clothes, or for entertainment, because they are susceptible to automated production, was destroyed nearly entirely the creative element in various traditionally creative activities like arts, sciences sports, (as also sex, if you want), and the single place, maybe, where the multiplication has not yet entered, is the reproduction of population, but as far as for a long time now they are talking about cloning, and the successes of genetic engineering are really impressive, there is nothing surprising if the near /_decades_/ these things get out from the pages of science fiction literature and enter in our life.


-->All this has destroyed basic time relationships between the effort for producing of something and the ready product, between the action and the result, and the humans, as far as they are not gods, have become confused and decided to kill "a bit" each other, hopping that in this way the things will better themselves -- similarly to the model of "healing" used for many centuries via bloodletting, what nowadays may seem to us ridiculous and unscientific, but this is the bitter truth (and, maybe, in the same way will look to the future people our "attempts" to solve our problems applying brute force and mass destruction, if, "help us God", the mankind will continue to exist in the future). While in the deep antiquity in each tribe there was special person responsible for preserving of the fire, and if it extinguished they have often killed that keeper, then much later, with the discovery of flint, the things were significantly improved, but even before a century the making of fire has still taken important place in the life of people, where now one simple lighter, that may be used for making of fire thousands times, costs (and is valued) as one egg of hen, i.e. as the strain of the hen to lay the egg (if we do not bother with the "effort" of the cock to engender it, of course). Similar changes have taken place in the area of transport and communications, have emerged the mass information means or media, which have also confused many human habits, and the capabilities of the so called thinking being have increased so much, that this poor being, which, in fact, is *_/_not_/_* thinking but just /_able to think_/, as long ago have remarked some more clever human exemplars (but does this only /_after he has exhausted all unreasonable methods_/ for reaching of the goal, according to the author), was not simply confused, but right away "dumbfounded" during this ending century.


-->But enough on this question, and this introduction was necessary for us in order to be able to predict the main problems of the next century that already "knocks on our doors". These problems, according to the author, are two, namely: artificial or extrauterine birth, and control over the population growth. The first one is dangerous with this, that it will break one important tie of mankind with the nature, will diminish the emotional contact of the mother with the child, and will alleviate up to such extent the life of more delicate half of the people, that they will again become /_confused_/ and will begin to think what else they are to do now (when are not do this, what was destined to them since the life on Earth has emerged) and in consequence of this all sorts of revolutionary cataclysms will arise. But as far as this problem is contained in significant extent in this of the birth control the author chooses to predict that *_the main problem in the next 21st century_* will be the question of *_/_restricting_/ the human population_* on the globe! We will try to have a good look at it, but /_*_not_* through extrapolation_/ of the tendencies, what is, as we in Bulgaria say, like to "make ones account without the innkeeper", but from the point of view of some /_reasonable population_/, because the main misconception in the disputes with Malthusians was, /_can_/ the globe feed all this future avalanche of people, where the question must sound as: *_/_is it necessary_/ for the globe to feed so many people_* and will this lead to increasing of integral human happiness, what, exactly, has to be the single goal of mankind?


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-->And so, let us begin. According to approximate and, maybe, controversial calculations the population on Earth in the II-I millennium BC was about 50 mln people, and to the beginning of our era has reached about 100 millions. This is one quite decent and sufficient number of people for a civilized society, what gives the /_first way_/ for computation -- based on human history. Later this number until roughly the year 1800 has still not exceeded one milliard, where in the current century we, definitely, have overdone the things when have jumped over 5 mlrd (plus or minus ten years here don't matter). But this was still possible to endure if people have lived nowadays so apart as in Ancient Rome, for example, but at the end of our century comes one more "scourge" for the mankind -- the world computer nets, which add the last touch to the means for mass communication, allowing quite accessible /_personal_/ mass information. And here, really, the globe turns to be pretty densely populated, because the important thing is not how many people live in one place, but *_how they_* can *_/_communicate_/_* in the process of their work or entertainment, where in this aspect is useful to remind you the biblical fable about the Tower of Babel (though we in Bulgaria, and also in Russia, write and read the town as "/_Vavilon_/" -- due to our Slavonic alphabet), which reduces to this, that overly united mankind is not "in accord with God", i.e. it is not acceptable for the people, because violates the balance with the environment, shortly put. The new accent here is not only in the power of mankind (and its unreasonableness, which unavoidably accompanies the unlimited power), but in the psycho-physiological characteristics of human individual.


-->Now we will motivate /_in another way_/ the approximate *_optimal population_* on Earth in the limits of *_that around_* the *_new era_* using the well accepted decimal system of counting. We will begin with this, that one maintains usually up to three circles or /_ranges_/ of contacts with the others around, namely: *_a)_* of *_first range_*, these which include persons of the order of 10 in the first degree or only a ten of persons -- *_very close relatives and acquaintances_*, which everyone knows (or at least thinks that knows) best of all, can predict their behavior, and is emotionally tied with them; *_b)_* of *_second range_* or 10 in the second degree, i.e. a hundred of persons -- relatives and acquaintances, which one knows by name and physiognomy, works or lives close to them, and, if not else, greets when meets them, but is not rightly to say that knows them well and does not experience any special feelings for them -- this is just the environment in which one lives and tries to express oneself and *_make career_*; *_c)_* of *_third range_* or 10 in the third degree, what means a thousand of persons -- people, about whom one has heard something, or has seen them, but not only that he/she does not know how many children the particular person has (and has he or she such at all), is he (or she) married, and so on, but very often does not know, either the name, or the physiognomy, or does not relate one with the other -- here enter all publicly known "stars", of whom the given person is interested (were they footballers, pop singers, politicians, or from the highlife), as also other *_casual acquaintances_*; *_d)_* of *_fourth range_* or 10,000 are now too many people, for to be accessible to an averagely taken intellect, and, usually, with so many acquaintances can boast only one-two percents of the population, so that it is not worth to take them into consideration. Speaking about ranges, and using the decimal logarithmic scale, we can not be very accurate, so that the given number can be multiplied by 2, 3, or even 5, what means that if somebody has acquaintances of second range, say, 350 persons, then they are not yet of third range. We can call this human phenomenon "*_rule of the small numbers_*", where is obvious that, the more deeper are our contacts, the more limited is the number of people, with which we maintain such contacts.


-->The next moment is to define the approximate number of *_areas of human knowledge_* and interests, in which we maintain contacts, but in such manner that they are well /_balanced_/, i.e. that they have approximately equal number of people, who can communicate in the given area. The nomenclatures of human professions, as also the indexes of most of the libraries are of the order of several thousands, and these are /_all_/ areas of human knowledge. In some specialized libraries, or in given scientific institutions, may happen that one of these areas is detailed in tens more areas, but such narrow specialization does not change our sectioning because these subareas are usually very narrow and unbalanced as to the scope and number of persons who work in them. Similarly exist also very broad areas -- for example of football fans, which on the globe are, probably, more than milliard people, but this is not an area in which people communicate in order to compete with one another (such could have been the area of very footballers of national or world range, the participants in which are, naturally, some hundreds, or at least as much are those, with whom one good footballer can compare himself). In other words, we are interesting in such areas, where the people, directly speaking, /_hinder_/ one another, because this is their "field of game" and in it they compete with the others :hunters", fight with them, express themselves, or make career. Saying "communicate" we do not mean that people speak about the weather, or about sports, or about horses, as the English like to do, or about women, as men like to do (or about men, as for their part do the women), or about politics and politicians (because, the more /_complicated_/ is some area, the more people think that they are the most experienced and know how to better there the things), but communication with purpose to /_personally express themselves_/ there.


-->So that let us accept for easier calculations (because when some information is fuzzy and inaccurate the best thing to do is to simplify our calculations), that the areas of human knowledge are thousand, as the number of people who compete in them (not interfering too much with each other) are also thousand. In this way we take the ceiling for contacts of second range, as also one increased nomenclature of basic professions. So we get a sufficient population size or order of one million people. Taking now into account that we presuppose (though till now have not explicitly stated this) that these are areas in which people /_create_/, not just perform necessary for the society activities (like production of goods, services, healthcare, education, maintaining of internal order, an so on), and assuming that with creative activities in society are engaged, usually, from 3 to 5 % of the people, but, on the other hand, with the strengthening of productive forces and improving of technologies on the current stage, their number may be expected to grow, then let us assume that the creative workers in the future society will reach ten percents (or 1/10 of the population). This means that we must multiply the got million people by ten and so it turns out that the optimal number of people becomes 10 millions. But as far as our figures are with precision of an order, and can reach until the next decimal order, it comes out that the optimal population on Earth must be from 10 to 100 millions, or, if we take some middle point, then *_these are 50 millions people_*.


-->Only such society could exist without big disturbances and disorders in the future, because when one satisfies his (or her) basic needs for food, shelter, and continuation of the gender, what remains to him is only the concern about expressing of his personality, and, eventually, improvement of the individual (what, however, is a thing that is not available for everyone, and the majority of people, after finding for themselves, as is said, their place under the Sun, more often than not substitute the strive for reaching of new qualitative development with bigger /_quantitative_/ affluence of things and pleasures). And as far as with the real entering of mass personal communications in life the *_whole world is becoming one state_*, where takes place the competing fight between people for expressing of their personality, then this number of 50 mln applies to the /_whole_/ planet! In this manner we get another, /_third_/, way for proving of our optimal number, because 50 mln is the number of population of one middle-scale country (like France, for example), and where the countries are bigger people rarely communicate outside their state or province, while smaller countries (like our, for example), are usually satellites of some of the bigger ones, and in this case the competitive struggle happens in the arena (or a part of it) of its "older brother".


-->In the above calculations we have deliberately overlooked one important moment -- the linguistic barrier, which is the next lesson from the fable about the Tower of Babel, because the language is used mainly to isolate or unite some ethnical or territorially limited group of people, and, hence, it must confuse our calculations. But this is not so for two reasons. The first one is that the international personal communications just /_break down_/ the state's borders, at least in regard of the areas of knowledge, and we are witnesses how in almost every science is now massively used the English language, and there is not a single international scientific, cultural, or sporting event of more significant range where English is not, if not the only one, at least one of the official languages. This applies also to each profession, in the industry, in the transport and trade, then in the area of entertainments, such like music, sports, discotheques, games, tourism, and so on. Of course there are still francophones, "teutophones", and others (and they /_will_/ exist) but on the level of everyday communications, where is no fight for expression of personality. It can quietly be accepted usage not of one single language but of 5-10 more acknowledged world languages, but, not only that for this purpose exist translators, the good computerized translation, at least in the areas of various sciences, not in fiction literature, is not more myth but a question of pair of decades. The second reason why the language barrier does not change our calculations is the fact that the linguistic dividing just /_overlaps_/ with our dividing in areas of knowledge, because there are no problems if, say, the doctors for heart surgery, or aviators, or footballers, etc., were from different language or ethnical groups, yet this does not divide the arena for their fight for expression -- the world "state". Besides, we have made our calculations based on 10 % creative workers from the population, and the left 90 % quietly can divide themselves even in 1000 language groups by roughly 1000 persons in each of them and still remain in the limits of acquaintances of second range, where their common number will again not exceed the prognosticated 10 millions of population.


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-->There remains only to propose some /_natural way_/ for reaching of such drastic diminishing of human population and this is certain limitation of birth. Some statistics show that in order to have effective coefficient of reproduction of population equal to /_one_/, i.e. for to remain in the next generation again the same amount of people, is necessary that on 100 marriages were born 265 children, where are taken into consideration not only birth rates and death rates, but also the possibility for conception in the family. We set ourselves the question: what must be the effective coefficient of reproduction if in /_each_/ family (a thing that is not at all easy to be reached, for the population growth in the Third World is still very high) were on the average /_by two children_/? This is a task of school course and is solved applying the simple rule of three, i.e.: to 2.65 corresponds 1.0 , then to 2.0 -- how much will correspond? The answer is 0.755, what means that after one generation we will have population size of 75 % of the current one, or diminishing of 25 percents. The continuation of one generation in Ancient Rome was about 20 years, but with the aging of population and prolongation of the period of education this time grows, so that now the average length is about 28 years, but for our calculations suffices if we accept that one generation is 25 years, because this gives by *_one percent diminishing of the annual population growth_*, what, really looking, is nothing dangerous and is quite normal situation in many developed countries for numerous years, and this by itself, in natural way, not because they speak there much about lessening of population (or some measures are taken, if it was spoken about this), but even /_in spite of this_/ that every state finds such tendency for something bad and takes measures for encouraging of birth in such cases. The whole "trick" is that this must become a /_mass phenomenon_/ in the world!


-->As far as it is practically impossible that we will do something in a world scale before the earthly population becomes 10 milliards people (or after some 10-20 years) the expressed here means that from 10 mlrd we must go down to 50 mln, or one *_decrease of 200 times_* of the population, or to 0.005 of 10 mlrd (what is five per mil). So that now the question sounds as: 0.755 to what /_degree_/ gives 0.005, and the answer is -- about 19, what can easily be proved using also a common calculator and multiplying this number by itself until it diminishes to five thousandth (but this can be done much faster typing 0.755 and pressing only the key for multiplication and then this for equality, what imitates rising in square, so that even on the third time, i.e. on 2 to the 3rd degree, or 8, we will have lessening to 10 %, in the forth time, i.e. to 16th degree -- to 1 %, and later we will jump over our goal). By duration of quarter of century for a generation this will give less than *_five centuries_* time for reaching of the necessary population, or, as long as our calculations have been approximated, then in the worst case till the end of the next millennium, but never faster than at least two centuries, because the faster processes are the most dangerous. This is shown in the following table:


-->On one hand on this table should not be looked very seriously, because it is some extrapolation, but on the other hand -- it is important, because this is not continuation of an existing tendency (for it has not yet begun), and it rather shows what /_must_/ be the direction in changing of the population, if we do not wish to grasp at the so called /_ultima ratio_/ (or the last resort, in Latin), i.e. at the military solving of the most important problem on Earth. By this, obviously, we should invent also some new term, because the genocide or holocaust have never till now given decrease of to at least 10 % of a given population (however "black" may sound similar statement), and here it goes about 5 per mil. But if it is so, from this follows only that our imagination is very weak, for during the whole outgoing century the mankind is simply suffocating on account of the impossibility for personal expression by this heavy population and boom of information, and by this high unemployment level, for the reason that by the enormously increased capacities of new technologies nobody needs so many workers (or at least there are not needed /_qualified_/ such, but only people who can press the buttons and turn the handles, yet one wants that the work was pleasant for one), and more and more people look at their profession nowadays only as means to earn their living, not as way to get satisfaction of the process or the result, how it should have been, but this just moves the stress for self-expression from the productive sphere to that of the leisure and entertainment. Only there the situation is the same -- exceeding of information ceiling for acquaintances of second range, as a result of what one again can not express oneself. Earlier (more or less up to 18th century) people have found pleasure even in this to make fire in the fireplace, to gather together to sing and dance, to make themselves some new dish or drink, to dress in some unique attire, to kill an animal, even to go to war, where must win the braver and stronger. Now everything becomes increasingly standard and impersonal, more and more technological and emotionless, ever more /_ready_/ (and present in the shops) even before one has set itself the goal to make it, and this does not bring the necessary satisfaction!


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-->Numb. of gener. | 0| 1| 2| 4| 8| 16| 18| 19| 20|


-->After (years) | 0| 25| 50| 100| 200| 400| 450| 475| 500|


-->Coeff. of decreas | 1.| 0.755| 0.570| 0.325| 0.105| 0.011| 0.006| 0.004| 0.003|


-->Popul. (mln) | 10,000| 7,500| 5,700| 3,250| 1,560| 111| 63| 48| 36|


-->*_Table1_*. Decreasing of the population by 25 % for generation


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-->The important moment, however, is to recognize that if the mankind will not make the /_reasonable_/ decision of this question, then this does *_/_not_/_* mean that it will not be solved in some other way! After we have defeated the epidemics of plague, cholera, etc., have arisen the devastating wars, where died not only those who want to fight, for to show that they are stronger, but more often peaceful population that wants only to live; have emerged the cancer and the AIDS, as means to decrease the average lifespan and population number of more and more aging population. Like locusts multiply most actively when there is enough food, but shortly after this it turns out that the food has finished and they begin to die, so also people have immoderately increased their population in the last pair of centuries, what has generated new problems with the meaningless life (when there is not moderate competition and possibilities for personal expression or career), with the imperfection of /_whatever_/ form of social government, with the drug addiction, which has grown tens and hundreds times compared with the situation in the middle ages (because opium was sown on the East since deep antiquity, but there was not such demand on it), with the homosexuality, which, still, turns out, maybe, to be the best reasonable solution on the background of universal unreasonableness (?), with the mass (again) pollution of the environment, not with "ecologically pure dirtiness", as it was for millenniums, but with "/_ecologically dirty cleanliness_/", as it happened in this century, and so on, and so on.


-->So that, if we do not behave reasonable, the nature (or God, if you like it better so) will find some way for establishing of the equilibrium on Earth, like, for example: mass infertility, by which will be born nice and intelligent children, who, when they grow of age, will exercise sex more scientifically than their predecessors of the beginning of new era, but will need no contraceptives because will be able to become pregnant only once out of thousands times, maybe; or will be changed the proportion of newly born boys to girls form 18 to 17, as it is now, to, say, 21 to 4, what will mean that the boys will be five times more than the girls; or the birth rate will be quite in order but in each next generation the children will have /_by one more finger on their hands_/ than their parents, and when the fingers become more than a dozen this will cause serious difficulties with the pressing of knobs and will hinder the general affluence; or the drug addicted will become somewhere about 70 % of the population and will declare all the others as abnormally developed and subjects to compulsory addiction; or the percentage of suiciders in the near future will reach 1/3 of the population and this in reproductive age; or similar to these variants. In any case some way will be found, which will generate possibility for limiting of the competing individuals to the number of appropriate for the humans level of contacts of second range, or to several hundreds of persons, because nobody wants to live in a situation when for to express oneself in our world one must study for half a century, in order to shrink the area of competition as far as possible, and even after this to have only one chance out of tens of thousands, not to draw out the big win, but to find at all a decent place under the sun.


-->This is just a necessity. And what is necessary it sooner or later happens, or as has put it our /_Shopp_/ (around the capital Sofia): "What is needed, it requires itself alone", no matter how it will be reached! In view of this, despite the unreasonable acts of mankind as a whole, there are all chances to suppose that after a pair of centuries the population on Earth will reach again one milliard people, and after this will continue to decrease further, until falls also below hundred millions. Let us hope that this will happen in a reasonable way.


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-->June 1998


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