The rationale behind the creation of parallel structures in the parallel society was simple, as the communist government had a monopoly on force and was too powerful to challenge head-on. Rather than trying to eliminate oppressive state structures, it was better to build up better ones that could function as alternatives or replacements to the establishment system which was dying. The parallel society provided individuals the means to express themselves freely without fear of censored speech. By the late 1980s, the parallel society in Eastern Europe had become so strong, decentralized, and decoupled from the state that the communist authorities lost their grip on power. Even my most audacious expectations have been considerably surpassed, wrote Benda in 1988. It is no