ABSTRACT
The people of East Germany have learned the hard way some of the difficulties of central planning, undemocratic government and state ownership. Many in West Germany are aware of the shortcomings of the profit-oriented market, of parliamentary democracy, of private ownership. If a united left, in a united Germany, were willing to reconsider what each has learned, to look for alternatives that are neither real existing socialism nor real existing capitalism but that take something good from each, then the experience of the last forty years might yet leave a positive legacy. But neither blanket condemnation nor blanket defense of either experience is useful. The people of East Germany know better than most what the costs of a closed mind or a closed society can be. The socialism that was officially proclaimed was taken seriously by many, especially in the early years. Although many left in disillusionment and more withdrew, the rhetoric remained, and it survives an articulation of goals.
