The gap between theory and practice

Against the backdrop of the international financial crisis the liberal weekly Tygodnik Powszechny prophesies a growing distrust regarding the concept of the free market economy: "The present crisis could also have long-term repercussions. In the eyes of the general public the US embodies the capitalism of the free market. US politicians eagerly preached to other countries about the importance of the state not intervening in the economy. And now we have watched the US first allow the international finance markets to virtually collapse and then stage a massive intervention on the market. It has even gone as far as nationalising institutions facing bankruptcy and transferring the huge burden of the debts of private financial enterprises to the shoulders of the taxpayer. This immense gap between theory and practice could lead to a decline in the popularity of the idea of the free market which was never particularly widespread in Poland anyway."

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