ABOUT THIS BOOK

This volume advances the methodology to compare socialist systems throughout the world by combining both theoretical approaches and empirical comparisons in a multidisciplinary and systematic fashion. Of the sixteen essays, all but two include the Soviet Union, all refer to Eastern Europe, six include China, and five include Cuba.

AUTHOR BIOGRAPHY

Carmelo Mesa-Lago is professor emeritus of economics at the University of Pittsburgh.

REVIEWS

“Its purpose is 'to advance the methodology to compare socialist systems,' . . . a multidisciplinary effort. . . . Socialism is not viewed as an end, as a movement that (in some places) represents an attempt to revolutionize the totality of social and economic existence; rather, it is seen as an alternative means to an end-industrialization. Socialist economies are believed to be necessarily inefficient and repressive, and most of the observers represented in this volume feel that these economies must ultimately give way to more market-oriented, capitalist-propelled devices to reach the goal of industrialization.”
—Journal of Economic Issues

“The editors have merged work from two disciplines, economics and political science; in a summary conclusion, a sociologist suggests possible extensions in the comparison of socialist systems for the future. . . . contributes generously to the field.”
—Slavic Review

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Contents

List of Figures

List of Tables

Preface

I. Indicators, Types and Models for Comparison

1. Indicators of Socio-Politico-Economic Development / Paul S. Shoup

2. A Classification of Communist Economic Systems | John M. Montias

3. Towards an Empirical Typology of Socialist Systems / William A. Welsh

4. A Continuum Model for Global Comparison | Carmelo Mesa-Lago

II. Politics

5. Patterns and Problems of Governance | Carl Beck

6. Revolution and Modernization in Economic Organizations | William N. Dunn

7. The Pattern and Method of Liberalization | Andrzej Korbonski

8. Bureaucracy and Party Control | Paul Cocks

9. Political Development and Political Change | Jan F. Triska and Paul M. Johnson

10. Technology and Communist Culture: Dimensions of Cultural Diffusion | Frederic J. Fleron, Jr.

III. Economics

11. Testing the Realism of Plans | Stanislaw Gomulka and Peter J. F. Wiles

12. Property Rights | Richard Carson

13. Industrial Organization | Frederic L. Pryor

14. Foreign Trade | Paul Marer

15. Cybernetics, Automation and the Transition to Communism | Josef Wilczynski

16. Comparing Socialist Systems: Ends and Results | Paul Hollander

About the Contributors

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