I remember so well how at the beginning of the 1990s, people that used to be kept in the darkness about social sciences and history, in an Eastern Europe where everything that has to do with humanities was corrupted by the propaganda dictatorships, were introduced to the generous concept of the open society through the academic initiatives generously supported by George Soros.
Social sciences were following a deformed, primitive version of marxism that people that hardly were able to write or to read couldn't grasp anyway. Psychology was forbidden because it allowed to individuals to be aware of their particular character threats and think independently. Concepts as Feminism or History of Ideas were in principle subversive and practicing them or even owning a book on topics that threatened the uniformity imposed by the political regime was paid with years of prison.
In the first post-dictatorship years, the institutions created by George Soros in Eastern Europe, based mostly in Budapest, as Hungary was at the time considered a oasis of liberal thinking, produced the new elites of the new Europe. People from all over the corners of the former communist empire were meeting in Budapest to get acquainted with the ideas that were prevented from entering their home countries. From Georgia to Albania, Romania and Bulgaria or Moldova, the concepts of the Open Society were conquering the world of ideas. I've had the chance to count among my best intellectual friends people that got educated to CEU and that further were brave enough to return to their home countries to challenge the way of thinking in universities, creating NGOs and supporting the creating of democratic institutions. How successful those ideas were for the countries and how many of those enlightened people are still in their former positions is another story and topic for another post.
The old elites, feeling thretened, mostly perceived the fabrics of ideas created by George Soros as a 'toxic' and dangerous entreprise. People educated to CEU or to other Open Society Institutes were often labelled as 'traitors', 'Jews', 'individuals sold to the foreigners', 'Soros' puppets'. The anti-democratic media and mindsets were easily accusing those people who at least were able to articulate coherently concepts in more than one language, as elements that should not be trusted because they are not 'patriotic' and dedicated to the 'motherlands'.
Such opinions were often shared in Ukraine, Romania or Moldova, but countries with a promising democratic record, as Hungary, a country I've had the chance to know pretty well for personal and professional reasons, were following fold. And it was a sign of embracing backwardness...
Compared to many other communist countries, Hungary always kept an intellectual allure. Its communist elites were educated, with a deep ideological knowledge into materialism and Marxism in general and an intellectual opposition, both outside and in the country that after the tragic events of 1956 succeeded to gain the sympathy of the West. The aggressive voices of the traditionalist right were outperformed by the intellectual strength of their left or liberal politicians and elites.
Among those who benefited from the generosity of Soros Open Network, Orban Viktor and some of his close FiDeSz political circle were among the first. However, it was most convenient politically to play the retrograd game of anti-Soros, pro-rightist discourse and keep being in power. Orban Viktor's ugly metamorphosis didn't appear overnight and his rise to power was also encouraged by the lack of a corruption-free, pertinent leftist discourse. In a climate which turned more and more ostile towards free thinking, Jews (I've heard more than once stories about Jewish intellectuals harassed by members of the far right who were ringing the bells to their doors late in the middle of the night only because their 'non-Hungarian' names were spotted), liberals, journalists (other than those from the state-supported media), CEU was an easy target.
After years of struggle with the system, the university that creates elites for Central and Eastern Europe is moving to Vienna. In an Austria where a party with clear rightist sympathies is in power.
Hungary has lost, Budapest elites have lost, Orban Viktor has lost, Central and Eastern Europe has lost.
CEU was instrumental in the post-communist changes in this part of Europe and made history in the field of mentalities. For the long duration of history, Orban Viktor would probably will be an acolade of history, but Central European University will remain as a basic and fundamental source of change. After all, the fight was worth.
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