Differing histories and approaches by the West were the reasons the movements toward democracy and free enterprise took opposite routes in South Africa and Eastern Europe, a former member of the British Parliament said in a speech at the Institute of Politics yesterday.

Shirley Williams, the public service professor of electoral politics in the Kennedy School, told the audience of about 30 that the history of South Africa made the welcoming of democracy easier.

"The whites of South Africa have enjoyed something that looked fairly much like a democratic society," said Williams, the Baroness of Crosby and a former member of the British cabinet.

She Pointed to the sophisticated markets and the rights to join government and vote for a favored candidate as among those enjoyed by whites.

And all these were embedded in a country that was "clearly a third-world country where 85 percent of the country had nothing," Williams said.

But once the rights were extended to the entire populace, she said, it was easier for South Africa to adjust because some of its people had already enjoyed some of

the liberties.

Williams said that Eastern Europe did notadjust well to democracy for precisely theopposite reason--none of the nations in theformerly Communist countries had any experiencewith democracy.

In Eastern Europe, Williams said, autocraticregimes "pervaded all society."

And tearing down those regimes meant destroyinga "sophisticated, advanced ideology that had to beerased in people's minds," Williams said.

Williams said Eastern Europe has not made assmooth a transition to democracy and freeenterprise partly because many leaders tried todestroy everything associated with theregime--including useful regulations.

Williams said that even air traffic regulationswere needlessly abandoned in some Eastern Europeannations.

"It was done in a fit of enthusiasm fordismountling what had been an oppressiveapparatus," Williams said.

And she said that the West made a fatal mistakeby not recognizing the political changes going onin Eastern Europe.

"One great mistake the West made was thedivorce of the political transition from theeconomic transition," Williams said.

"We sent lots of high-powered consultants whoworked on the various economic transitions,"Williams said.