Reforming Communism, Refusing Capitalism: The Rise and Fall of the Concept of "Socialist Market" focuses on the concept of “socialist market,: a cornerstone of political economy in Soviet-type societies undergoing economic reforms from the 1950s onward. Encouraged by the success of non-capitalist mixed economies, market reformers (also called 'market socialists') offered the communist ruling elites a remedy for the persistent crises of the planned economy. Besides optimal planning...

This volume examines concepts of central planning, a cornerstone of political economy in Soviet-type societies. It revolves around the theory of “optimal planning” which promised a profound modernization of Stalinist-style verbal planning. Encouraged by cybernetic dreams in the 1950s and supporting the strategic goals of communist leaders in the Cold War, optimal planners offered the ruling elites a panacea for the recurrent crises of the planned economy. Simultaneously, their planning pro...