Download or read book Why did the Socialist System Collapse in Central and Eastern European Countries written by Jan Adam and published by Springer. This book was released on 2016-07-27 with total page 250 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: In the book the author discusses the reasons for the collapse of the socialist system in Poland, Czechoslovakia and Hungary. He analyses the roles of economic and political factors and of the USSR. He concludes that the lack of legitimacy of the communist regime, the disintegration of the Communist Party and its ideology were at least as important reasons as increasing lag behind the West in technology and the declining standard of living.

Download or read book Why Did the Socialist System Collapse in Central and Eastern Europe written by Jan Adam and published by . This book was released on 1996 with total page 0 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The book discusses the economic and some of the political and social causes of the collapse of the socialist system in Poland, the former Czechoslovakia and Hungary. The causes of the former Soviet Union's own collapse are briefly examined, in order to explain its role in the demise of socialism. Political factors played at least as important a role as economic factors in the breakdown. Of the economic factors the most important were the increasing gap between the East and the West in the level of technology, unfavourable developments in the standard of living, the excessive socialisation of the means of production, and growing indebtedness. Systemic and economic policy factors should be blamed for this development. Economic reforms did not succeed because, in the 1960's, they did not go far enough and, in the 1980's, it was too late. Of the political factors the most important were lack of legitimacy, erosion of the socialist ideology, disintegration of the communist parties, and the abandonment of Brezhnev's doctrine.

Download or read book The Collapse of Communism written by Lee Edwards and published by Hoover Institution Press. This book was released on 1999-11-01 with total page 224 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Ten years after the fall of the Berlin Wall and eight years after the dissolution of the Soviet Union, experts continue to debate one of the most important political questions of the twentieth century--why did Communism collapse so suddenly? A comprehensive and often unexpected answer is provided in this unique volume of essays by the world's leading authorities on Communism. Presidential adviser Zbignew Brzezinski discusses the critical role of policymakers like Ronald Reagan, Mikhail Gorbachev, and John Paul II in the demise of Communism. Richard Pipes and Martin Malia debate the importance of history and ideology. Robert Conquest analyzes the deleterious impact of the Stalin years, and Michael Novak delineates the missing element of faith in Communism. Andrzej Brzeski exposes the fatal flaws of Communist economics; Brian Crozier discusses why there was a cold war. Paul Hollander concludes with a consideration of who in the academy was right--and wrong--about Communism. These insightful essays suggest that a wide range of forces--political, economic, strategic, and religious--along with the indispensable role of the principled statesman and the brave dissident, brought about the collapse of Communism.

Download or read book From Failed Communism to Underdeveloped Capitalism written by Adam Zwass and published by Routledge. This book was released on 2016-09-16 with total page 259 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This text presents an analysis of the sources and general features of the current political and economic situation in the reforming countries of Central and Eastern Europe, the former Soviet Union and China.

Download or read book The Socialist Good Life written by Cristofer Scarboro and published by Indiana University Press. This book was released on 2020-06-02 with total page 237 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: “First-class, rigorously researched, richly documented, and thought-provoking” essays on the consumer experience in socialist Eastern Europe (Graham H. Roberts, author of Material Culture in Russia and the USSR). As communist regimes denigrated Western countries for widespread unemployment and consumer excess, socialist Eastern European states simultaneously legitimized their power through their apparent ability to satisfy consumers’ needs. Moving beyond binaries of production and consumption, the essays collected here examine the lessons consumption studies can offer about ethnic and national identity and the role of economic expertise in shaping consumer behavior. From Polish VCRs to Ukrainian fashion boutiques, tropical fruits in the GDR to cinemas in Belgrade, The Socialist Good Life explores what consumption means in a worker state where communist ideology emphasizes collective needs over individual pleasures.

Download or read book The Transformation Of Communist Systems written by Bernard Chavance and published by Routledge. This book was released on 2019-06-26 with total page 180 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: In the confrontation between the two main economic systems that has marked the twentieth century, capitalism has been declared the winner–by default– over its adversary, socialism. Today, establishing a market economy has become the primary goal of the formerly socialist countries. The history of economic reform helps explain this remarkable turning point. Attempts to improve the old centralized system by expanding enterprise autonomy (in Poland, the Soviet Union, and East Germany) and more radical reforms that limited the role of central planning (in Yugoslavia, Czechoslovakia, Hungary, and China) encountered social and political obstacles or had unexpected and undesired effects. During the 1980s, the idea of a socialist market economy, which had been seen as a "third way" between capitalism and centralized socialism, was abandoned as economists gradually came to support a free market rather than the dogma of planning. Through a comparative and historical analysis of change in socialist and post-socialist systems, this timely and original book clarifies the policies and pitfalls in this extraordinary transition. Bernard Chavance provides a succinct introduction and analysis of the politics and economics of Eastern Europe from the creation of the Stalinist system in the Soviet Union through what he argues have been three major waves of reform since the 1950s to the dismantling of most socialist governments in the 1990s. Exploring the link between the one-party regime and the growing rigidity of socialist economic systems, the author analyzes the failure of both incremental and radical reforms to adapt to new economic challenges, thus leading to the ultimate collapse of communist regimes in Europe.

Download or read book The Capitalist Transformation of State Socialism written by David Lane and published by Routledge. This book was released on 2013-11-20 with total page 399 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: David Lane outlines succinctly yet comprehensively the development and transformation of state socialism. While focussing on Russia and the countries of Eastern Europe, he also engages in a discussion of the Chinese path. In response to the changing social structure and external demands, he outlines different scenarios of reform. He contends that European state socialism did not collapse but was consciously dismantled. He brings out the West’s decisive support of the reform process and Gorbachev’s significant role in tipping the balance of political forces in favour of an emergent ascendant class. In the post-socialist period, he details developments in the economy and politics. He distinguishes different political and economic trajectories of countries of the former USSR, the New Member States of the European Union, and China; and he notes the attempts to promote further change through ‘coloured’ revolutions. The book provides a detailed account not only of the unequal impact of transformation on social inequality which has given rise to a privileged business and political class, but also how far the changes have fulfilled the promise of democracy promotion, wealth creation and human development. Finally, in the context of globalisation, the author considers possible future political and economic developments for Russia and China. Throughout the author, a leading expert in the field, brings to bear his deep knowledge of socialist countries, draws on his research on the former Soviet Union, and visits to nearly all the former state socialist countries, including China.

Download or read book Cities After Socialism written by Gregory Andrusz and published by John Wiley & Sons. This book was released on 2011-08-10 with total page 363 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Cities After Socialism is the first substantial and authoritative analysis of the role of cities in the transition to capitalism that is occurring in the former communist states of Easter Europe and the Soviet Union. It will be of equal value to urban specialists and to those who have a more general interest in the most dramatic socio-political event of the contemporary era - the collapse of state socialism. Written by an international group of leading experts in the field, Cities after socialism asks and answers some crucial questions about the nature of the emergent post-socialist urban system and the conflicts and inequalities which are being generated by the processes of change now occurring.

Download or read book The Collapse of State Socialism written by Bartolomiej Kaminski and published by Princeton Legacy Library. This book was released on 2016-04-03 with total page 280 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Does the abrupt collapse of communist regimes in Eastern Europe arise only from errors in implementing the policy of state socialism, leaving the concept itself still a potentially valid one? Bartlomiej Kaminski argues to the contrary: state socialism is a fundamentally defective idea that was well carried out, enabling it to exist until its accumulated shortcomings made its survival extremely difficult. How did the flawed state-socialist system endure for so long? Why is it failing now? In answering these questions, Kaminski, who is both an economist and a political analyst, proposes a general theory and then applies it to the case of Poland. Contending that the breakdown of state socialism results from symbiosis of the state and the economy, the book describes how communist governments searched for tools that would replace the market mechanism and the rule of law. Doomed in advance by the absence of autonomy and competition, this search generated new crises by undermining the state's capacity to suppress individual interests and to direct the economy. Originally published in 1991. The Princeton Legacy Library uses the latest print-on-demand technology to again make available previously out-of-print books from the distinguished backlist of Princeton University Press. These editions preserve the original texts of these important books while presenting them in durable paperback and hardcover editions. The goal of the Princeton Legacy Library is to vastly increase access to the rich scholarly heritage found in the thousands of books published by Princeton University Press since its founding in 1905.

Download or read book Communism and Its Collapse written by Stephen White and published by Psychology Press. This book was released on 2001 with total page 120 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Focusing particularly on the USSR and Eastern Europe, this book examines the development of communist rule - Communist doctrine - Limits of reform - Decline in the system - Explaining communist collapse.

Download or read book How Capitalism was Built written by Anders Åslund and published by . This book was released on 2013 with total page 423 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Anders Aslund is known to make bold predictions that initially arouse controversy but soon become common wisdom. In Gorbachev's Struggle for Economic Reform (1989), he foresaw the collapse of the Soviet political and economic system. After Russia's financial crisis of 1998, observers declared the market economic experiment a failure, Aslund foresaw market economic success (Building Capitalism, 2002). In How Capitalism Was Built, 2nd Edition, he asks - and answers for the twenty-one countries he investigates: • Why did communism collapse? • Why did Russia not choose gradual reforms like China did? • Wherein lies the relative success of postcommunist transformation? • How did the oligarchs arise and decline vis-à-vis authoritarian leaders? Anyone who wants to understand the often confusing postcommunist dramas and obtain an early insight into the future will find this intellectually stimulating book useful. This edition includes updates to each chapter and new chapters on the impact of the global financial crisis and the European Union.

Download or read book Communism A Very Short Introduction written by Leslie Holmes and published by Oxford University Press. This book was released on 2009-08-27 with total page 177 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The collapse of communism was one of the most defining moments of the twentieth century. This Very Short Introduction examines the history behind the political, economic, and social structures of communism as an ideology.

Download or read book Poland s Return to Capitalism written by Gavin Rae and published by Bloomsbury Publishing. This book was released on 2007-11-28 with total page 234 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: PLEASE NOTE THIS IS AN NJR AND BLURB SHOULD NOT BE USED IN ITS RAW FORM: This book considers the social, economic and political consequences of Poland's transition from socialism to capitalism. The immense changes that have occurred in the country over the past decade and a half are analysed in their historical and geo-political framework. Poland was the first Eastern European country to return to capitalism, with its shock-therapy economic reforms replicated throughout the region. These sought to dismantle the socialist elements of the economy as rapidly as possible and open up the post-socialist countries to the world capitalist market. The former socialist countries were absorbed into the international division of labour and their economies quickly became a part of and dependent upon the global capitalist system. The revolutions of 1989-91 not only transformed Eastern Europe but instigated fundamental changes to the international capitalist system itself. By opening up the ex-socialist economies to international capital a new era of globalisation was opened, as the principles and practices of neo-liberalism gained ascendancy. While a section of society prospered from this opening, other social groups saw their living-standards decline, creating large social inequalities. One consequence of these social divisions has been the destabilising of the newly created democratic political systems. The growth of more authoritarian, conservative political currents in Poland is an example of this. As the largest and most strategically important country in Central-Eastern Europe, Poland has increasingly become a focus of international relations between the major powers. Events in Poland, especially after European expansion, influence relations between the USA, the European Union and Russia. This book therefore looks both at how the absorption of Poland into the international capitalist system has transformed the country and at how this process is contributing to developments globally. It finishes by considering developments since EU Accession and at the expected results of this expansion both within Poland and an enlarged EU.

Download or read book Transition Economies written by Aleksandr V. Gevorkyan and published by Routledge. This book was released on 2018-04-17 with total page 317 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This interdisciplinary study offers a comprehensive analysis of the transition economies of Central and Eastern Europe and the former Soviet Union. Providing full historical context and drawing on a wide range of literature, this book explores the continuous economic and social transformation of the post-socialist world. While the future is yet to be determined, understanding the present phase of transformation is critical. The book’s core exploration evolves along three pivots of competitive economic structure, institutional change, and social welfare. The main elements include analysis of the emergence of the socialist economic model; its adaptations through the twentieth century; discussion of the 1990s market transition reforms; post-2008 crisis development; and the social and economic diversity in the region today. With an appreciation for country specifics, the book also considers the urgent problems of social policy, poverty, income inequality, and labor migration. Transition Economies will aid students, researchers and policy makers working on the problems of comparative economics, economic development, economic history, economic systems transition, international political economy, as well as specialists in post-Soviet and Central and Eastern European regional studies.

Download or read book The Puzzles of Fairly Fast Growth and Rapid Collapse Under Socialism written by Stanislaw Gomulka and published by . This book was released on 2010 with total page 0 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The national statistics and international comparisons based on purchasing power parities suggest that the Former Soviet Union (FSU) in the years 1925-75 and Central and Eastern Europe in the years 1945-80 experienced economic growth comparable to that of many market-based economies of similar levels of development. This must be considered a puzzle given the incentive problems, the absence of proper prices, limited competition and resistance to innovation in economies dominated by a state sector. However, this fairly fast growth came suddenly to a halt in the 1980s. This phase of stagnation and limited reform is now followed not by a recovery, but by a phase of surprisingly deep collapse, indeed in some countries a near disintegration. The paper discusses the three phases with the intention of establishing relationships between them and, in this way, of providing a better understanding of each of the two puzzles.The analysis of development is conducted in terms of standard models of international technology transfer, capital accumulation and catching up. This analysis is informed by the consideration of the distinct characteristics of development under socialism. These characteristics relate in part to preferences of the central authorities, embodied in the so-called communist strategy of industrialization, and in part to the implications for innovation and development of the socialist economic system. The standard view of the socialist development was that the short-term interests were sacrificed for the benefit of future generations. The paper aruges that this was true only in the initial phase of development. In the later phase the authorities had switched to an opposite policy, one of sustaining a reasonable pace of improvement for the current generation under an inefficient system at the expense of future generations. The collapse phase came with the exhaustion of the growth reserves offered by the policy. The intergeneration terms of exchange have switched once more, again to work against the interests of the current generation. The paper also discusses the particular causes of the collapse and the prospects of a revival after the transition to a market-based system is advanced.

Download or read book Capitalist Diversity on Europe s Periphery written by Dorothee Bohle and published by Cornell University Press. This book was released on 2012-08-15 with total page 305 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: With the collapse of the Council for Mutual Economic Assistance in 1991, the Eastern European nations of the former socialist bloc had to figure out their newly capitalist future. Capitalism, they found, was not a single set of political-economic relations. Rather, they each had to decide what sort of capitalist nation to become. In Capitalist Diversity on Europe's Periphery, Dorothee Bohle and Béla Geskovits trace the form that capitalism took in each country, the assets and liabilities left behind by socialism, the transformational strategies embraced by political and technocratic elites, and the influence of transnational actors and institutions. They also evaluate the impact of three regional shocks: the recession of the early 1990s, the rolling global financial crisis that started in July 1997, and the political shocks that attended EU enlargement in 2004.Bohle and Greskovits show that the postsocialist states have established three basic variants of capitalist political economy: neoliberal, embedded neoliberal, and neocorporatist. The Baltic states followed a neoliberal prescription: low controls on capital, open markets, reduced provisions for social welfare. The larger states of central and eastern Europe (Poland, Hungary, and the Czech and Slovak republics) have used foreign investment to stimulate export industries but retained social welfare regimes and substantial government power to enforce industrial policy. Slovenia has proved to be an outlier, successfully mixing competitive industries and neocorporatist social inclusion. Bohle and Greskovits also describe the political contention over such arrangements in Romania, Bulgaria, and Croatia. A highly original and theoretically sophisticated typology of capitalism in postsocialist Europe, this book is unique in the breadth and depth of its conceptually coherent and empirically rich comparative analysis.

Download or read book The International Systems After the Collapse of the East West Order written by Armand Clesse and published by Martinus Nijhoff Publishers. This book was released on 1994 with total page 888 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This book provides the reader with a comprehensive study of the future perspectives of the international order after the collapse of the Evil Empire. The first part of the book reviews the likely evolution of the international system in the years to come, covering the global implications of the end of the East--West order (political, economic and strategic impact); the second part studies the specificities of the situation in Europe, the U.S.A., Asia, and the rest of the world, as well as the role of some international organizations. The book addresses the basic questions facing us since the collapse of the socialist system: What has been the impact of the collapse of the East--West order on the international system? How will various regions and actors be affected by these changes? How will they react to them? What will be the most important challenges and threats in the future international system, and how can we prepare for them? Gathered together in this volume are contributions from some of the most eminent experts from the academic community as well as from governmental and international organizations, making it a reference book for students of international affairs as well as policy-makers and corporate managers.