Freedom and its enemies: Problems of re-establishing freedom and democracy in the European context

The experience of living in non-free communist societies may have made the people of Eastern Europe particularly sensitive to the weakening and ultimately the loss of freedom. Many see such a process currently taking place in a Europe that increasingly places group rights and entitlements above the rights of individuals. Such a process has been driven by a growing belief in the inevitability of market failure, a desire to use the state for personal gain and a fear of openness, freedom and competition.