As you report, much of Eastern Europe is doing rather well in the current economic crisis (“Some Calm amid Storms,” August 27, 2011). Although many in the region are annoyed by the old name, it still sticks. And for a good reason. These countries will bear witness to socialism of old for a long while. Capitalism has not yet captured most of the region, that is. Rapid credit growth, much of it in foreign currency, has hurt several countries, but living on credit is still a distant dream across the rest of Eastern Europe. Generally, loans were given only to those who could prove to their banks that they did not need them, anyway. Untapped real estate assets as collateral explain this paradox. But not getting hooked on debt explains a good part of Eastern Europe’s relative calm. It will take another couple of decades for the Western Europe’s bad habit to change the current situation. Given the likelihood that the economic crisis will last for quite some time, Eastern Europe has a leisurely reprieve. Who knows, it may turn out that even Western Europe will be cured from the bad habit in the meanwhile.