Overview

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.

Full Product Details

Author:   Bartolomiej Kaminski
Publisher:   Princeton University Press
Imprint:   Princeton University Press
Volume:   3304
Dimensions:   Width: 15.20cm , Height: 1.50cm , Length: 22.90cm
Weight:   0.397kg
ISBN:  

9780691609010

ISBN 10:   0691609012
Pages:   280
Publication Date:   14 July 2014
Audience:   College/higher education ,  Professional and scholarly ,  Tertiary & Higher Education ,  Professional & Vocational
Format:   Paperback
Publisher's Status:   Active
Availability:   Manufactured on demand  
We will order this item for you from a manufactured on demand supplier.
Language:   English

Table of Contents

"*FrontMatter, pg. i*Contents, pg. vii*List of Tables, pg. xi*Preface, pg. xiii*INTRODUCTION, pg. 3*CHAPTER ONE. The Institutional Sources of Crisis-Generating Tendencies, pg. 17*CHAPTER TWO. The Limited ""Reformability"" of State Socialism, pg. 45*CHAPTER THREE. The Logic of a Closed System: The Vicious Cycle of Decline, pg. 77*CHAPTER FOUR. Crisis Management: The Trap of Negative Legitimation, pg. 114*CHAPTER FIVE. Determinants of Normalization: Why Has It Failed to ""Normalize"" State Socialism in Poland?, pg. 135*CHAPTER SIX. The Institutional Decomposition of State Socialism: The Syndrome of Withdrawal, pg. 162*CHAPTER SEVEN. Beyond State Socialism, pg. 194*APPENDIX A. Stages of the ""Post-Martial Law"" Normalization: A Bird's Eye View of Major Political Developments, pg. 213*APPENDIX BETA. The Debt Trap, pg. 237*Abbreviations, pg. 245*Bibliography, pg. 247*Index, pg. 263"

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