It is clear that Hungary's history under the influence of the Soviet Empire has ill-prepared it for its current effort to emerge as a democratic state with a capitalist economic order. Human values and ideological visions have so deteriorated in Hungary that there are few resources of social control, either formal or informal, that can combat the rising tide of criminality. In an attempt to counter crime, the government must first develop policies based on a rational assessment of the problem and how it may best be addressed. The problem, however, is that a rational assessment of factors that spawn crime leads policymakers into a morass of chaotic social and economic conditions that plague the country. Crime prevention policies devised within the narrow frame of reference of the state's criminal justice system hold little promise of effectiveness when the social, economic, and political institutions of the country lack the force needed to condition positive normative behaviors. 2 notes