Political repression has been on my mind lately. Chinese repression is among my favorite subjects. And memories of Yugoslav repression came back to me a few days ago. Indeed, so-called socialism and repression go well together. Under socialism, people of the pen have always been in danger of overstepping boundaries, both known and unknown. But the fact is that I have experienced repression on my own skin only in so-called capitalist Croatia. Like most of the countries behind the Iron Curtain of old, those on top in this country have continued using old methods under new circumstances. The libel law is at their disposal to confront all forms of “verbal crimes” that expose their wrongdoings or challenge their political power. Although I won two libel cases raised against me by the mayor of Motovun, I lost the insult case, which falls under the very same law. A vestige of Yugoslav repression, Croatian repression is quite real. Unbeknown to most, it is that much more successful. As well as debilitating. Strangely, only those who have suffered from it directly would agree with my ruminations about repression. Most of them are denizens of the World Wide Web, just as I am. The others are blissfully unaware of the repressive nature of capitalism in the making. As well as of its fading socialist undertones. Croatian repression is thus more successful than one would think. In fact, it is thriving.