Sociološki Pregled (Jan 2004)

Elements of a critique of neoliberal model of transition

  • Golubović Zagorka T.

DOI
https://doi.org/10.5937/socpreg0402005G
Journal volume & issue
Vol. 38, no. 1-2
pp. 5 – 21

Abstract

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With the fall of former socialism a period of transition has come into being in Eastern and South-Eastern Europe, however without the articulation of a vision and strategy of the development on the road to society's democratic transformation. So far the strategy of the dissidents' movements had been directed towards the changing of the system of "real socialism" with the abstract proclamations about human and civil rights and democracy as a rule of law, as against the totalitarian regime. One may say that these countries met transition unprepared, without a clear perspective of where to go further. Being that the pattern of "Western democracy" has been idealized without a necessary differentiation between the variety of democratic models within Europe and in USA, the basic orientation has been: "back to capitalism"; while democracy has been identified primarily, if not exclusively, with the market economy and a rigid version of "market fundamentalism". Therefore, the following questions will be discussed in the paper: ● Has the jump to capitalism been necessarily and rationally tied to a "wild capitalism" which is linked with a primordial accumulation of capital and a very sharpening social differentiation; ● has it been rational in the countries with underdeveloped economy and lack of modern political institutions to accelerate reductive functions of the state in the name of the elemental operations of the market economy, for which there haven't existed the basic preconditions (see: J.Stiglitz, Contradictions of Globalization - the critique of transition in Eastern Europe), ● has the accelerated liberalization of economy with the elements of shock-therapy been appropriate to the underdeveloped political system inherited from the past, as well as the law standard of living; ● has the maximisation of a "profit-orientation" under such conditions opened doors to the penetration of illegal capital, as well as mafia and organized crime; has it been necessary to strengthen the role of the welfare state in order to resolve the accumulated problems in the sphere of everyday life and social services instead of its intensified limitation, which provokes the deviation of the citizens towards the rightist options; ● thereby, in what mistakes consists of neoliberal conception of transition, and whether some other model will be more adequate when these countries are in question?.

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