Lessons Learned from the Transition from Communism to Free-Market Democracy: The Case of Croatia

This article explores the transition experience of Croatia from 1990 to the present, with emphasis on social attitudes towards the free-market system and how the legacy of communism has influenced people’s expectations of and views towards the economy. The anthropological position of man as homo economicus is of central importance, if one is to properly understand the forces at work in a transition society like Croatia. This position also has far-ranging implications for ethics and morality, as well as for the general culture. Assisted by the insights of Catholic social teaching, in particular Pope Benedict XVI’s Caritas in Veritate, the article concludes with possible lessons from the failure of communism and the challenges of transition.