Vasile Dorolti – The Market Share

“The apostles of the new world, who are the marketing agents have flooded the virgin field of local markets following the replacement of Ceaușescu’s dynastic communism by Iliescu’s capitalism of clans. Well trained, routined and brainwashed, they have rapidly replaced the communist “wooden language” by the “rubber language” of global capitalism. The needs of the population were rapidly charted and the average Romanian could finally enjoy the benefits of the free world: original blue-jeans imported from Turkey, Alvorada coffee from Vienna instead of the former “Ersatz” and the long, white Kent cigarettes that were no longer a hard currency but became an affordable luxury. Our old needs were listed and met by a corresponding offer and new demands were created in order to prevent the market from becoming idle. The market share started narrowing as soon as all sorts of crisis melted the last of money from our pockets. When you get up in the morning and look at yourself in the mirror, watch carefully! You might wake up with some bar code on your forehead. No, this is not an illusion! You have turned into a market share. Meanwhile our traditional salesmen who offered new dishes for old clothes have been slowly pushed aside, into the outskirts. But their market share which is the same size as our poverty seems stable and is full of life and joy.” – Vasile Dorolti