The Political Economy of Russia (original) (raw)

The Palgrave Handbook of Critical International Political Economy, 2016

Abstract

On the eve of the market reforms in Russia at the beginning of the 1990s the prominent Russian television journalist organized a talk-show with the suggestive title “Do we need capitalism?” The broadcast was seen as a triumph for liberals over supposedly backward opponents of the new system. A highly regarded economist of the time explained the essence of the new “sole truthful doctrine” to viewers in popular fashion: “Imagine a small pie, cut into equal pieces. That’s socialism. Now imagine a big pie, cut into unequal pieces. Even the small pieces of the second pie are much bigger than in the first. That’s capitalism.” Another guest on the program then pointed to the simple, straightforward road to the promised consumer paradise: the state should get out of the economy. This, it was said, meant of course that the state should make way for ordinary citizens.

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