Civics, Czech Republic & Slovakia - History, Political Philosophy, Ethics & Moral Philosophy - Applied - General & Miscellaneous, Eastern Europe - Politics & Government

Summer Meditations

Name: Summer Meditations
Author: Vaclav Havel
ISBN: 9780679744979

by Vaclav Havel, V. Havel, Paul Wilson

Available on Bookshop Write a review

Books.org participates in affiliate programs including Bookshop.org and the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program. We may earn a commission from qualifying purchases made through links on this page, at no additional cost to you.

Overview

In a book written while he was president of Czechoslovakia, Vaclav Havel combines the same powerful eloquence, moral passion, and abiding wisdom that informed his writing as a dissident and playwright, with a candor unprecedented from one with the broad perspective and infinite responsibility of governing a country.

Havel, now president of the Czech Republic, addresses the legacy of Communism as the euphoria of the Velvet Revolution gives way to a more problematic reality. Yet even as he grapples with the challenges of political change, he affirms his belief in a politics motivated by moral responsibility; in an economy tempered by compassion; and in the central roles of art and culture in the transformation of society. Summer Meditations is not only a timely and necessary testament of events in Eastern Europe but a profound reflection upon the nature and practice of politics and a stirring call for morality, civility, and openness in public life throughout the world.

In a work written while he was president of Czechoslovakia, Havel offers profound reflections upon the nature and practice of politics throughout the world, and extends a stirring call for a moral political system, a responsible free market, and a statecraft that honors human needs.

Synopsis

Publishers Weekly

In this first book since he became president of Czechoslovakia, Havel forthrightly states what he believes and what he wants for his country. He advocates a politics of decency, stressing that government officials have a moral responsibiity to serve the people. While he supports a market economy, he argues that market mechanisms alone cannot solve all problems, and instead envisages a mixed economy plus a higly decentralized political system with vigorous regional assemblies. Havel calls for a long-range energy strategy, urges strict environmental laws, encourages schools to foster free, independent thinking and strongly opposes the breakup of his nation into separate Czech and Slovak republics. He outlines an electoral system that would give more weight to the popular voice while de-emphasizing party politics. This informal personal testament offers a key to understanding the politics and promise of the post-Communist world. (June)

Reviews

There are no reviews yet. Log in to write one.

Editorials

Publishers Weekly - Publisher's Weekly

Library Journal

Havel, noted playwright, imprisoned dissident, and now president of Czechoslovakia, has written a concise, personal political testament that offers useful insights into his philosophy of leadership. Originally written in the summer of 1991, this translation includes some revisions and remarks as of February 1992. While Havel downplays his role in the transforming events of 1989 (``I became an instrument of the time. . . . History forged ahead and through me, guiding my activities '' ), he sets forth a clear political agenda for Czechoslovakia and stresses the need to cultivate a ``higher responsibility '' of public service. He proposes reforms in the electoral process and a new federal constitution to help alleviate tensions between the Czechs and Slovaks. Havel is a reluctant yet determined ruler, and this modest manifesto admirably reflects his desire to fuse practical politics with morality and good taste. This is an important complement to Havel's previous political writings, collected as Open Letters ( LJ 6/15/91). Highly recommended for most libraries. Portions of this book appeared first in the New York Review of Books .--Ed.--Thomas A. Karel, Franklin & Marshall Coll. Lib., Lancaster, Pa.

Kirkus Reviews

More pieces of Havel's lively, subtle mind. Last summer, the oft-imprisoned absurdist playwright who's become president of Czechoslovakia decided that he owed his fellow citizens a concise account of where he stands now that "the era of enthusiasm, unity, mutual understanding, and dedication to a common cause is over." In setting down his thoughts, the author necessarily grapples with the nuts-and-bolts detail of parliamentary governance in a nation-state where Czechs and Slovaks are again able to pursue conflicting sociopolitical interests. He nonetheless addresses great issues of obvious concern and relevance to thoughtful citizens of democracies (and tyrannies) throughout the Global Village. At the outset, for example, Havel argues that bedrock moral standards (which can be imposed by neither a constitution nor law, let alone directives) are the essential foundations of a viable country. He goes on to insist that policies (foreign as well as domestic) must grow not from ideology but from ideas—notably, from a coherent concept of human rights. The author also reflects on the responsibilities of independence, the shock of freedom (for those who have been subjugated), and the fragile estate of civility, common decency, and kindred values in the conduct of public affairs. When it comes to outlining his own credo, Havel is appreciably more elusive. While refusing to be typecast as a man of either the left or right, however, he exhibits a sense of steely purpose in his resolve to set Czechoslovakia on the road to fruitful self-government. Worldly-wise pens‚es from an intellectual who's as comfortable and effective on the hustings as in an ivory tower.