The people wanted change. They craved it. It was in their subconscious every waking moment. Would large military action or any other kind of violent oppression stop them from bringing about this collapse of the totalitarian regime. Possibly, but not only was Moscow weaning the protectorates off of their military recourse, “Svetlana Savranskaya has been able to go through all of the Soviet politburo records from 1985 through 1991 and not find a single reference to the possibility of using force in Eastern Europe.” (Stokes 1993, 346)The people were also never letting it leave their minds. No. Nothing would stop the idea of Pluralism. As the economy slowed and the regime leaders grew fatigued and miffed over their situation. The people grew even more resentful and strained day by day. Anyone who has watched as another person got to eat that delicious looking desert, while they dined on a quite appeasing looking vegetable knows that hunger and thirst for change. Why are they getting that donut when all I get is a lousy celery stick. That same thought process was going through the minds of a reasonable amount of the citizens of east-central Europe. Why did the west (and a small amount of the east) get to have that nice-looking government and all we get is this façade of a utopian government. Their government looks like it lets them have a true voice and they have plenty of provisions like toilet paper. What do we have?  No really, what do we have? This utopia that we were promised is nothing but lies. These were probably the thoughts going through the minds of the people as they were realizing that Communism failed. These thoughts started long before the collapse in 1989, but certainly didn’t stop there as it continued until the final bricks fell down in Moscow a few years later. Most thought they were destitute, however they didn’t take the time to analyze Pluralism’s faults until after adopting the “process” and by then only sentimentality could set in. While Hyperrationalism was ultimately detrimental to them economically ; at least the people had certain livelihoods secure. They always had a place to stay and work to be done, but they didn’t realize that with the ability of true choice, among other things, also comes uncertainty of those livelihoods. “Workers are no longer the heroes of society, jobs are not guaranteed, public life seems to consist of one crisis after another, and young people emigrate to the West instead of staying at home.” (346) In the end, their lives are essential the same as before in their day to day activities. They live out their existence almost the same with having families, spending days with friends, learning a trade, and on and on the list goes. What changed is that the rest of the world was opened up to them. They got to fully and assiduously explore and interact with the West. Share in their unity (EU), in their technological advances, and in their triumphs and failures.

The people of Eastern Europe were not just a “battleground” between the East and West, but also the failed experimentations for Antirationalism and Hyperrationalism. This has led them to the most adaptable of governments, Pluralism. More commonly known as, but not entirely consisting of, Democracy. The people wanted reform, they wanted to do away with the stagnation, and they wanted their toilet paper (and other toiletries like tampons). The Pluralism of the West looked fantastic, but had its own issues. What now? They got their donuts and the nuances of the West, but ultimately they still squabble over the past and the niceties of the former totalitarian regimes. They seem to miss the point of why they wanted that change to begin with. While there is uncertainty in Pluralism there has not been an all-out-war, nor does it look like there will be one in the near future. While there is economic concerns from time to time, such as with Greece a couple of years ago, the penury of the past is that. The past. I hope that the people of Eastern Europe hold onto optimism for their opportunities in the future and not onto the pessimism of their pillaged past.

Stokes, Gail. The Walls Came Tumbling Down: Collapse and Rebirth in Eastern Europe. New York: Oxford University Press, 1993.