Homo Post-communistus: Portrait of a Character in Transition

ABSTRACT Post-communist transition affected not only institution-building and policy, but also individuals' value systems, linguistic patterns and code of conduct. This fluid environment is inhabited by a hybrid socio-political character, one both grounded in the present and marked by the past, and who speaks a language in transition, mixing post-communist lingo with communist idioms. The post-communist Romanian political and public arenas show that liberal democracy and market economy have been appropriated in terms of form and utility (the first is observed rather than engaged, the second as a consumer), and less as responsibility (e.g., rule of law, the respect of contractual obligations, or civic duties).