Journal of Economic Literature
Book Reviews
2026-09-01
John P. Bonin of Wesleyan University reviews “From Socialism to Capitalism: Eight Essays” by Janos Kornai,. The EconLit Abstract of the reviewed work begins “Presents comparisons of socialism and capitalism, and dictatorship and democracy, with an interpretation of the “change of system.” Discusses the coherence of the classical system; the inner contradictions of reform socialism; market socialism or socialist market economy; the speed of transformation; the great transformation of Central Eastern Europe--success and disappointment; what “change of system” means; what countries embarking on postsocialist transformation can learn from the experiences so far; and the system paradigm. Kornai is Professor Emeritus at Harvard University, Permanent Fellow Emeritus of Collegium Budapest, Institute for Advanced Study, and Distinguished Research Professor at Central European University. Name and subject indexes.”