Capitalism Versus Pragmatic Market Socialism

The collapse of communism in Eastern Europe has raised a number of questions concerning the future course of their economies. Has capitalism won or is something different emerging? Has market socialism vanished for good? How can the transitionary period be managed and what effect will it have on the standard of living in Eastern Europe?

Distinguished economists Brus and Laski–who were involved with the Planning Office of the Polish economy in the 1950s and 1960s–here develop a theoretical system of economic management which avoids the failings of both market capitalism and central planning. This book examines Marxists claim to socialism's economic rationality and studies the application of the concept in the "real socialism" of Communist party orthodoxy as well as in the tentative attempts at "market socialism", particularly in Hungary and Yugoslavia. The analysis focuses on general features of the evolution of the socialist economic system, but national experiences are used to point out the advances that have been made and the flaws in the theoretical models that have been developed.

Can we conceive of a market economy that fulfills the ideals of socialism? Here, Miller provides a comprehensive examination, from the standpoint of political theory, of an economy in which market mechanisms retain a central role, but in which capitalist patterns of ownership have been superseded.

This edited volume explores the cultural life of capitalism during socialist and post-socialist times within the geopolitical context of the former Yugoslavia.

This edited volume explores the cultural life of capitalism during socialist and post-socialist times within the geopolitical context of the former Yugoslavia.