Contradictions and Dilemmas

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These seven essays by a prominent Eastern bloc economist delve into critical social and economic issues within socialist economies. Published in Hungary in 1983, they offer firsthand insights from an insider striving for frankness and impartiality regarding his country's economic experiment. The essays differentiate between traditional centralized socialist economies and those, like Hungary's, undergoing institutional reforms. Rather than providing a broad analysis, they focus on key characteristics of social economies to encourage comparative thinking. The topics addressed will engage sociologists, political scientists, historians, philosophers, and economists alike. Kornai emphasizes that modern societies often blend elements of capitalism and socialism, resulting in diverse systems featuring various market dynamics and management styles. This comparative perspective highlights both the significant differences and the underlying similarities between these systems. The essays cover themes such as the reproduction of shortage, budget constraints, paternalism, the interplay of economics and psychology, the state of Hungarian economic reform, efficiency in socialist ethics, and public health. János Kornai serves as Professor of Economics at the Institute of Economics, Hungarian Academy of Sciences, Budapest.