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Soros' quest for an open society



DATE=4/2/98
TYPE=BACKGROUND REPORT
NUMBER=5-39457
TITLE=SOROS' QUEST FOR AN OPEN SOCIETY
BYLINE= ED WARNER
DATELINE= WASHINGTON
CONTENT=
VOICED AT: 

INTRO:   FEW, IF ANY, CAN RIVAL GEORGE SOROS' PHILANTHROPY, BUT 
IT COMES WITH STRINGS ATTACHED.  IT IS INTENDED TO PROMOTE HIS 
VISION OF THE GOOD SOCIETY. THOSE WHO SHARE HIS VIEWS COULD NOT 
BE MORE GRATEFUL; THOSE WHO DO NOT ARE HIGHLY CRITICAL. BUT AS 
V-O-A'S ED WARNER REPORTS, THERE IS NO DENYING THE 
PHILANTHROPIST'S VAST INFLUENCE IN MUCH OF THE WORLD.

TEXT:  FEW PEOPLE HAVE THE RESOURCES TO SPREAD THEIR IDEAS AROUND
THE WORLD.  BUT GEORGE SOROS IS THE EXCEPTION.

WITH PERSONAL ASSETS OF FIVE BILLION DOLLARS, HE GIVES AWAY 350 
MILLION DOLLARS A YEAR TO PROMOTE WHAT HE CALLS AN "OPEN 
SOCIETY," ONE THAT IS OPEN TO ALL IDEAS AND DEBATE AND CLOSED TO 
ALL DOGMAS.  

HE HAS BEEN ESPECIALLY CONCERNED WITH BRINGING THE OPEN SOCIETY 
TO RUSSIA AND OTHER COUNTRIES ONCE IN THE GRIP OF COMMUNISM.  IN 
A RECENT SPEECH AT HARVARD UNIVERSITY, HE EXPLAINED HIS CREDO:

                                // SOROS ACT //

         I HAVE A DUAL INVOLVEMENT IN RUSSIA. I AM INVOLVED AS A 
         PHILANTHROPIST, AND I AM INVOLVED AS AN INVESTOR. AND I 
         MUST SAY THAT MY POSITION AS A PHILANTHROPIST HAS TAKEN 
         PRECEDENCE OVER MY POSITION AS AN INVESTOR. BUT ONCE I 
         BECOME AN INVESTOR, I HAVE TO BE CONCERNED ABOUT 
         RETURNS, AND I WILL NOT MAKE AN INVESTMENT IF I DO NOT 
         THINK I CAN MAKE A PROFIT.

                                  // END ACT //

HUNGARIAN-BORN SOROS HAS DISPLAYED A RARE GIFT FOR MAKING MONEY, 
BUT SOMETIMES IN WAYS THAT HAVE BROUGHT SHARP CRITICISM. 

IN 1992, HE MADE A BILLION DOLLARS BY SPECULATING AGAINST THE 
BRITISH POUND, THUS FORCING BRITAIN OUT OF THE EUROPEAN MONETARY 
SYSTEM. LAST SUMMER, MALAYSIAN PRIME MINISTER MAHATHIR MOHAMAD 
ACCUSED HIM OF WRECKING THE CURRENCIES OF SOUTHEAST ASIA, LEADING
TO THE ECONOMIC CRISIS THAT HAS SWEPT THE REGION.

INDEED, MR. SOROS HAS BEGUN TO EXPRESS SOME DOUBTS ABOUT THE 
SYSTEM FROM WHICH HE HAS PROFITED.  IN A RECENT ARTICLE IN THE 
"ATLANTIC MONTHLY" MAGAZINE, HE LAMENTS THE BREAKDOWN OF THE 
INTERNATIONAL ORDER THAT HAS ALLOWED CURRENCIES TO "FLOAT AND 
CRUSH AGAINST EACH OTHER LIKE CONTINENTAL PLATES." EXCESSIVE 
SELF-SEEKING UNDERMINES THE OPEN SOCIETY. HE WRITES: THERE IS NO 
MAGIC OF THE MARKETPLACE. 

THESE SECOND THOUGHTS HAVE EMERGED FROM HIS EXPERIENCE WITH SOME 
FORMER COMMUNIST COUNTRIES, WHERE HE HAS SPENT HUNDREDS OF 
MILLIONS OF DOLLARS TO ENCOURAGE DEMOCRACY. THE RISE OF AN 
INTENSE NATIONALISM IN SOME PLACES HAS DISMAYED HIM. NATIONALISTS
ACCUSE HIM OF WORKING TOO CLOSELY WITH FORMER COMMUNISTS.

MORE RECENTLY, MR. SOROS HAS TURNED HIS ATTENTION TO THE UNITED 
STATES, IN PARTICULAR ITS WAR ON DRUGS WHICH HE CONSIDERS FUTILE.
HE IS GIVING FIFTEEN MILLION DOLLARS TO GROUPS THAT SEEK AN 
ALTERNATIVE DRUG POLICY THAT DOES NOT FILL UP THE NATION'S 
PRISONS.  HE IS CREDITED WITH HELPING PERSUADE VOTERS IN TWO 
AMERICAN STATES, CALIFORNIA AND ARIZONA, TO ALLOW DOCTORS TO 
PRESCRIBE SOME ILLEGAL DRUGS, INCLUDING MARIJUANA. 

IN RESPONSE, HE HAS BEEN DENOUNCED FOR  TRYING TO LEGALIZE DRUGS.
THAT IS TO BE EXPECTED, HE SAYS. "NO POLITICIAN CAN STAND UP AND 
SAY WHAT I AM SAYING BECAUSE IT IS THE THIRD RAIL - INSTANT 
ELECTROCUTION."

FOR THIS KIND OF DEFIANT STAND AGAINST CONVENTION AND THE MONEY 
TO BACK IT UP, MR. SOROS IS DESCRIBED BY JUSTIN RAIMONDO IN 
"CHRONICLES" MAGAZINE AS A "NATION IN HIMSELF THAT HAS NO BORDERS
BUT ONLY TENTACLES AND OWES NO LOYALTY TO ANY PARTICULAR STATE 
BUT ONLY TO THE GOOD OF MANKIND - WHICH GENERALLY SEEMS TO 
COINCIDE WITH THE GOOD OF GEORGE SOROS."

BUT IT IS GOOD FOR MANY OTHERS, INSISTS JOHN CHETTLE, A  
WASHINGTON LAWYER  WITH INTERNATIONAL CLIENTS :

                              // CHETTLE ACT // 

         HE IS ONE OF THE FEW REALLY WEALTHY INDIVIDUALS WHO HAVE
         BEEN PREPARED TO DO SOMETHING QUITE SIGNIFICANT WITH 
         THEIR MONEY OUTSIDE THE SAFE AREAS OF HEALTH, EDUCATION 
         AND SO ON. HE REALLY HAS GONE INTO DEMOCRATIC GOVERNANCE
         IN A WAY THAT RELATIVELY FEW PEOPLE HAVE BEEN PREPARED 
         TO DO, AND HE HAS BEEN PREPARED TO PUT SOLID AMOUNTS OF 
         MONEY - FIFTY MILLION DOLLARS AT A TIME - INTO THOSE 
         KINDS OF ISSUES IN PARTICULAR COUNTRIES WHERE HE THINKS 
         HE CAN MAKE A DIFFERENCE.

                                 // END ACT //

MR. CHETTLE SAYS OFFICIALS IN EASTERN EUROPEAN COUNTRIES TELL HIM
GEORGE SOROS HAS MADE A DIFFERENCE AND IS CONTRIBUTING TO THE 
OPEN SOCIETY THEY WANT AS MUCH AS HE DOES.  (SIGNED)

NEB/PT  


02-Apr-98 9:40 PM EST (0240 UTC)
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Source: Voice of America
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