2012. 03. 13 Russian Trade and Commerce Go Ahreum Russian Economic Ideas since Perestroika Between Path Dependence and Paradigm Shift 2012. 03. 13 Russian Trade and Commerce Go Ahreum

Contents Introduction The Pre-revolutionary Legacy of Russian Social Thought The Intellectual Background of Perestroika Soviet Economic Debates 1987-1991 Russian Economic Debates since 1991 6. Conclusion

Introduction The problems of establishing a market economy 3 / 14 Introduction The problems of establishing a market economy The clashes between conflicting patterns of thought that are deeply rooted in the Soviet and pre-Soviet history of Russian economic ideas

The hostile attitude toward capitalism 2. Pre-revolutionary Legacy of Russian Social Thought 4 / 14 Holism ~ 18th century Orthodox Christianity Anthropocentrism Unity between belief and thought, individual and society, State and Church ↓ The hostile attitude toward capitalism In the middle of the 19th century Slavophiles → There’s basic cultural difference between Western Europe and Russia Westernisers → There’s no difference between Russian culture and that of Western

Perestroika Acceleration & Socialism with a human face ↑ 3. The Intellectual Background to Perestroika 5 / 14 Infusion into the mouldering swamps of the planned economy with mobilising ideals Perestroika Acceleration & Socialism with a human face ↑ The shestidesyatniki - the theory of Economic Mechanism (Increasing the autonomy of Soviet enterprises from the central plan) The close links with the legacy of pre-revolutionary Russian social philosophy Perestroika is a typical example of how socio-philosophical and economic ideas were put into practice with a time lag of two or three decades

1. The early stage A conflict between its bureaucratic organisation 4. Soviet Economic Debates 1987-1991 6 / 14 1. The early stage A conflict between its bureaucratic organisation and some natural economic laws Discussion on perfection of the calculation of planned production expenditures (not on a transition to market price) The issue of Social Property (Socialist property did not have a real owner) ↓ Without changing the basic structure, economic reforms of property had been and illusion

2. Inflow of Western Liberal Ideas 4. Soviet Economic Debates 1987-1991 7 / 14 2. Inflow of Western Liberal Ideas MEiMO – Opinion about Re-privatisation - Political power or economic law? (2) Novyi mir – “ Where there is more market, the pirogi are meatier ” - Mr. and Mrs. Piiasheva demanded radical economic reforms and drew a bright picture of Russia’s capitalist future - Incompatibility between the market and the plan

3. Paradigm Shift or Path-Dependence 4. Soviet Economic Debates 1987-1991 8 / 14 3. Paradigm Shift or Path-Dependence The decline of Soviet ideology: Increasing symptoms of crises within the Soviet economy The influence of Western neo-liberal ideas The peacuful revolutions in Europe Perestroika had not fulfilled its promise of raising the living standard of the population ↓ The old dogmas in Soviet economic thought had been replaced in whole or in part by an incompatible new one

3. Paradigm Shift or Path-Dependence 4. Soviet Economic Debates 1987-1991 9 / 14 3. Paradigm Shift or Path-Dependence Although a paradigm shift had definitely taken place, it can shown that revolution and path-dependence were not necessarily mutually exclusive Russian neo-liberals The market economy = natural organisation of economic affairs Anti-ideology against Marxist-Leninist dogma Contradiction with Russian intellectual traditions

1. Post-industrial Society and the Comeback of Slavophile Ideas 5. Russian Economic Debates since 1991 10 / 14 1. Post-industrial Society and the Comeback of Slavophile Ideas Growing industrial tendency in the Western world → Why should Russia go through capitalism instead of directly harvesting the fruits of post-industrialism~? ↓ But Russia had ended up in “Wild capitalism” Was capitalism possible, Was it suitable for Russia? Slavephile Ideas: Russian market economy was possible, but that it would be very different from the Western types; Due to Russia’s cultural specificity capitalism had been remain impossible

5. Russian Economic Debates since 1991 11 / 14 2. The Regulation Debate - The academicians were the first to fight back fiercely against the market reforms - Selective support for the most important branches of production L. Abalkin, N. Petrakov, S. Shatalin: To achieve a rational reconstruction, the whole economy should be put back on state-regulated tracks (Investment activity could be stimulated only by the state) A rational economic system is; One that made the most effective use of scarce resources (X) One that followed a political logic by serving the national interests (O) The Russian discussion on regulation had fairly little in common with the debates among Western economists

3. The Rise of Russian Institutionalism 5. Russian Economic Debates since 1991 12 / 14 3. The Rise of Russian Institutionalism - More attention was paid to analysis of Russian reality - The growing awareness to the structural and institutional condition of the Russian economy The central theme of the modern Russian institutionalism The interplay between formal and informal institutions Russian institutionalism bridged the gap between the Slavopiles and the neoclassical liberals Could Western settings simply be transferred to Russia? Analysing the prevailing patterns of thought and behaviour was a prerequisite for successful economic reforms

5. Russian Economic Debates since 1991 13 / 14 4. A New Consensus? Most Russian economists agreed that political consolidation and a strengthening of the government are the crucial factors for the backing of stable economic growth and social development (Different thoughts between economists on p.15) The Key issue of the Russian transition is still unsolved The post-socialist model of Russian society is like a hybrid reflecting the still-existing profound indecisiveness regarding the model for the Russian society of the future

Conclusion The clearly prevailing attitude is that 14 / 14 Conclusion The clearly prevailing attitude is that the failure to implement a market economy is evidence of a basic difference between ‘Western’ and ‘Eastern’ societies Russian economists today is clearly more conservative and less Western-minded