Word: pessimistic
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What, then, would a Polish pessimist predict? About what is expected by gloomy counterparts in Hungary, Czechoslovakia and the other Soviet satellites that broke free of communism in 1989. Standards of living will drop so low and for so long that the populace may rebel, not just against capitalism and free- market economics but against democracy as well. Possible result: the accession to power of "the man on the horse" -- a dictator...
...fuel to the pessimist fire, Babson is 5-0 this season going into the game with Harvard...
...last half of the book, Reich abruptly shifts from Pangloss to pessimist with an artful analysis of the nation's class cleavages. He correctly identifies the growing economic and social gap between the well- educated elite ("the fortunate fifth") and the rest of the nation as the major threat to future prosperity. His remedies are mostly liberal boiler plate: progressive taxation, job training and reinvestment in the nation's infrastructure. Familiar Reich stuff -- but probably not the right stuff for Democrats hungering for an economic road map toward 1992 and beyond...
...cast of newcomers, unfortunately, do not offer equally electric performances, but they are invariably solid. Clements, if not inspired, is able as Tom. And Carolyn Farina is convincing as his well-read, occasionally insipid love interest Audrey. Taylor Nichols gives the strongest supporting performance as Charlie, the thoughtful pessimist who forever wonders if members of the "urban haute bourgeoisie" are doomed to (relative) failure...
What is the antidote? Education. Law. Justice. Charity. Love. I came at last to think that the subject in Oslo was not exactly hate, but on the dark side, evil, and on the other, hope. Havel said he is neither an optimist nor a pessimist: "I just carry hope in my heart. Hope is not a feeling of certainty, that everything ends well. Hope is just a feeling that life and work have a meaning." Hope is the thing with feathers. Or the thing in diapers...