Letter to the Little Girl from Vushtrria

I don't know who you are, little girl, and I don't have any reproof for you. On the contrary. You know, because I was your age myself, and I love the recitals: kids recite the words that adults teach. They believe what they are told because they are not yet able to understand things and get to know the world themselves.

So I'm not writing these lines for you today, little girl. I'm writing about you for years, when you've grown up and you're able to see things through your own eyes.

When you get older, don't take any ideas just because a politician, a teacher, a journalist, or even your parents told you.

Always ask: What really happened? For example, how did those factories, for which you, as a child, work out on the platform to mourn?

Did they produce with profit or loss? Who paid for the loss? In what markets did they sell their products? Could they survive under global free competition?

And to understand, you have to start with the simplest question: what is capitalism and what is socialism?

Here are some things about them from a philosophy teacher:

In the 19th century, a new economic system was rising rapidly: capitalism. In a short time, he would transform the world radically. But critical voices would also arise. They would get different names: Socialists, Communists, Marxists and so on. Capitalism, they said, had not ended the misery of the people; it had only changed his form. So he was to be replaced by another economic system in which the ideals of equality would become a reality. The Socialists, Communists and Marxists blamed private property for all the bad things about civilisation. The solution, according to them, was collective property. It would put an end to the injustices and inequalities that affected the human conscience.

Thousands of pages would be written to make this idea credible, but people called Bolschevics had to come and, at the head of their leader, Vladimir Lenin, in 1917, dared to put that idea to life.

So the great XX conflict arose between two visions of world economic order: collective socialism and private capitalism. For decades this conflict would dominate the world.

Capitalism is a system where people have the right to own private property, invest, create businesses and compete with each other. It does not promise equality of results, but promises economic freedom and the opportunity for everyone to benefit from their jobs, talents and initiatives.

This freedom has produced wealth, innovation, and progress in size that human history had never known before. I never even imagined. Smartphone you're having fun with today, and the social networks that connect you to friends and friends from around the world are the product of this freedom.

Socialism, on the other hand, was raised on the idea that private property on the main tools of production should be restricted or replaced by collective property. The goal was to create a more equal and just society. It was an ideal that inspired millions worldwide. But when he applied, he faced serious difficulties and problems. The centralised state planning failed to replace market mechanisms. Without competition and without market signals, socialist economies became less efficient and less innovative.

You will also learn that this was the biggest economic experiment in modern history and that at the end of the 20th century, this experiment failed. The planned economies collapsed or were reformed by taking elements of the market economy.

Their industries largely bankrupted, including those of Yugoslav socialism, which was part of Kosovo's economy. All that was possible was the privatisation of the few valuables left.

Privatisation of socialist factories in post-war Kosovo was part of this historic development. After the war, Kosovo began the transition from the socialist economy to the market economy, following the route that many other Eastern European countries had earlier traveled.

The idea that these factories could continue operating as before is completely groundless. They were created and operated within an already finished economic system. Market economy requires competition, continued investment, technological innovation and the ability to adapt to consumer demands. Almost all socialist factories failed to meet these conditions. They suffered from outdated technology, low productivity, capital shortages and dependence on state subsidies. Trepca's story in the postwar years in Kosovo is the most illustrative example of this fact.

Moreover, traditional markets where these companies had sold their products had lost. In the new economic conditions, they had to compete with local and international companies much more efficient and advanced. Without large investments and deep restructuring, their long - term survival was difficult to imagine.

Perhaps when you grow up, you will discover that some privatisations have been unfair. You may find that in some cases public wealth has been misused. You'll learn something that might hurt your dreams of a happy world: history is full of human error and happy dreams that end up in terrible things. Always, though, do not confuse people's mistakes with the laws of the economy. A factory doesn't survive because someone loves it. It doesn't even close because someone hates it. It survives only if it produces something people want to buy and if it can do so better than its competitors.

When you grow up, you will find that homesickness is not a good counselor. People often look back well on their jobs, safety and youth, but forget the bad aspects, debts, losses, lack of efficiency, and problems behind the facade of the former system.

So don't curse people just because someone told you to curse them. Read, learn, compare, and judge with your mind. That's actually the point of schooling. If it all concludes that privatisation was wrong, then let it be your opinion. But let it be a thought gained by true knowledge, not a memorized sentence on an electoral platform.

Because true freedom does not begin when a person learns what to think. True freedom begins when one learns how to think. And only the latter saves us from manipulation and abuse from others.