From Marx to the Market: Socialism in Search of an Economic System

Description

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. "the enormous experience of the authors and the intellectual quality of their analysis make it a book which deserves to last" —William Outhwaite, University of Sussex, Political Studies, Volume XXXIX Number 1 March 1991 "The analysis presented in the book is highly penetrating. It remains of immediate practical relevance despite the acceleration in the pace of systematic change in Eastern Europe over the last year." —Antoni Chawluk, University of St. Andrews, Scottish Journal of Political Economy "This book is a welcome addition to the literature on Eastern European economies in particular, and the notion of an "economically feasible socialism" in general. It is well written and concise, with just enough background information on the history of economic development in Eastern Europe to prepare the reader for the authors' new contributions." —The Polish Review Wlodzimierz Brus is at St Antony's College. Kazimierz Laski is at Johann Kepler University of Linz. Kazimierz Łaski was a Polish-Austrian economist. During the antisemitic purge of 1968 Łaski had to leave Poland and moved to Austria, where he worked for the rest of his life and was widely recognized as a major contributor to Post-Keynesian economics. Cover Title Page Copyright Preface Preface to the paperback edition Contents Part I: Marxist Socialism—the Promise 1. The Claim to Economic Rationality Part II: Real Socialism—the Disappointments 2. The Historical Regularity in Reverse 3. The Objective of Catching Up 4. The Command System Part III: Market Socialism—the Problems So Far 5. The Theoretical Response to Challenge 6. The Hungarian Practice 7. Central Planning with Regulated Market—the Flawed Model 8. The Yugoslav Lessons Part IV: Market Socialism—the Problems Ahead 9. The Capital Market and the Problem of Full Employment 10. The Question of Ownership 11. Concluding Remarks Notes Index A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y