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PRAGUE — The man credited with toppling communism in Czechoslovakia says the global economic crisis is a warning not to abandon basic human values in the scramble to prosper.
Unrestrained materialism is not what freedom and democracy are all about, former Czech leader Vaclav Havel said Friday in an exclusive interview with The Associated Press at his office in Prague.
Havel urged society to remember the struggles of ordinary citizens — especially those too poor to invest.
"It's a warning against the idea that we understand the world, that we know how everything works," Havel said. "It's a warning against the pride of economists who think they understand everything and have the whole world scientifically mapped out."
The ex-dissident and playwright-turned-president, who will turn 72 on Sunday, led the Velvet Revolution that peacefully shook off decades of communist rule in 1989.
Havel, who later became the Czech Republic's first democratically elected president after the country split from Slovakia in 1993, advocated a free and open market. Today, his country is a member of the European Union and NATO and a staunch U.S. ally.
But Havel was always wary of no-holds-barred capitalism, and he blames corporate greed and a profit-at-any-cost mentality for the crisis now rattling stock markets, banks and private investors worldwide.
"The major problem is where modern civilization is going," he told the AP. "I think humankind will face more serious decisions on where to go."
But Havel, who was repeatedly arrested and jailed in his fight to shake off Soviet domination, had stern words for anyone who might suggest that capitalism has failed and communism deserves a second chance.
"I spent almost five years in prison," he said in his office, packed with his books and plays — and decorated with memorabilia from The Rolling Stones and other Western entertainers who lent their celebrity to Havel's cause.
"Prison is a tough and bitter experience," he said. "But the worst thing about communism was not that people were imprisoned. It was the pressure placed on people by a strange and systematic atmosphere of fear."
Havel, who left politics in 2003 and rarely grants interviews, also rebuked Russia for its recent invasion of Georgia and cautioned EU leaders against appeasing Moscow.
"We should not turn a blind eye ... It's a big test for the West," he said.
Havel, however, played down concerns that Russia might crack down militarily on the Czech Republic and neighboring Poland if the two ex-communist nations give final approval to hosting a U.S. missile defense shield. Russia fiercely opposes the shield and contends it poses a threat to its own security.
Moscow "understands there are other ways to control someone besides using tanks," Havel said.
"If Russia really wants to, it could blow up the entire planet several times over with its nuclear arsenal," he added. "What's at stake is a principle: When they don't want something, we shouldn't want it."
Russia's military might is a sensitive issue for Czechs, who this year marked the 40th anniversary of the 1968 Soviet-led invasion that crushed democratic reforms known as the "Prague Spring."
Although many Czechs don't want Washington to put part of the missile shield — a radar station — in their country, Havel defended the country's close ties to the U.S.
"Poland and the Czech Republic are not some kind of American affiliates in Europe," he said. "Not at all. But we have a warmer attitude toward the United States. We are grateful to Americans for many things ... We see them as a reliable ally."
Havel said he's watching the U.S. presidential race closely — and in a roundabout way, he offered what sounded like an endorsement of Democrat Barack Obama.
"I don't want to interfere in any way," he said. "But perhaps I can say that in my views, I tend to be closer to the Democrats."
Earlier this year, Havel published a new play, "Leaving," about the struggles of a leader on his way out of office.
Although he insists it's not about him, Havel says he's done with politics.
"My return to the stage was not easy," he said. "It's not a common thing for someone to be involved in theater, become a president, and then go back. But theater is my major interest now."
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Associated Press writer Karel Janicek in Prague contributed to this report.
