Introduction ON JANUARY 1, 1990, President Václav Havel1 of Czechoslovakia addressed his nation. It had been a few weeks since his country peaceably ousted the Communist totalitarian government that had held power for forty years. Only two days before, Havel had been elected President by a parliament still dominated by Communists. Havel said: We live in a contaminated moral environment.… We learned not to believe in anything, to ignore each other, to care only for ourselves. Concepts such as love,
Page 15