Markets in the Name of Socialism : The Left-Wing Origins of Neoliberalism

we exchange students studied with Hungarian scholars, who provided us new ways to understand the world, even in such courses as American literature. We took part in large protests, visits to Roma villages, evenings in underground punk clubs, panicked discussions with our Education Abroad Program directors, and the general social life of young college students, who happened to arrive in a place of historic change. The language of our professors, who talked positively about markets, democracy, and freedom, surprised me. The American right wing had done so much to politicize these words and done such evil in Central America and elsewhere in their name. Our professors in the Karl Marx University of Economics sounded like Reagan robots. After returning to the United States and entering graduate school, I found myself drawn to trying to understand what I had experienced. What was socialism? What was capitalism? What had happened in 1989? This book is my current answer to these questions. During my dissertation research, I discovered that Hungarians had been calling for both markets and socialism since the 1950s. For those familiar with Hungary, such a discovery was not a surprise. Yet, in the 1990s, scholars already assumed that socialism had been, and would likely always be, the centrally planned, state socialism exemplified by the Soviet Union. In this environment, a reminder of Hungary's market socialist past vii xi The affiliations listed are those at the time of the interviews. The Worldwide Spread Of Neoliberalism Has Transformed Economies, Polities, And Societies Everywhere. Rather Than Focusing On The Agency Of A Few Prominent, Conservative Economists, This Book Reveals A Dialogue Among Many Economists On Both Sides Of The Iron Curtain About Democracy, Socialism, And Markets. These Discussions Led To The Transformations Of 1989 And, Unintentionally, The Rise Of Neoliberalism. The Book Takes A Truly Transnational Look At Economists' Professional Ideas Over 100 Years Across The Capitalist West And The Socialist East. Introduction : Economists And Socialism -- Neoclassical Economics And Socialism : From The Beginnings To 1953 -- A New Transnational Discussion Among Economists In The 1950s -- Neoclassical Economics And Yugoslav Socialism -- Goulash Communism And Neoclassical Economics In Hungary -- The International Left, The International Right, And The Study Of Socialism In Italy -- Market Socialism Or Capitalism? : The Transnational Critique Of Neoclassical Economics And The Transitions Of 1989 -- Post-1989 : How Transnational Socialism Became Neoliberalism Without Ceasing To Exist -- Conclusions. Johanna Bockman. Includes Bibliographical References And Index. The worldwide spread of neoliberalism has transformed economies, polities, and societies everywhere. In conventional accounts, American and Western European economists, such as Milton Friedman and Friedrich von Hayek, sold neoliberalism by popularizing their free-market ideas and radical criticisms of the state. Rather than focusing on the agency of a few prominent, conservative economists, Markets in the Name of Socialism reveals a dialogue among many economists on both sides of the Iron Curtain about democracy, socialism, and markets. These discussions led to the transformations of 1989 and, unintentionally, the rise of neoliberalism. This book takes a truly transnational look at economists' professional outlook over 100 years across the capitalist West and the socialist East. Clearly translating complicated economic ideas and neoliberal theories, it presents a significant reinterpretation of Cold War history, the fall of communism, and the rise of today's dominant economic ideology. The worldwide spread of neoliberalism has transformed economies, polities, and societies everywhere. In conventional accounts, American and Western European economists, such as Milton Friedman and Friedrich von Hayek, sold neoliberalism by popularizing their free-market ideas and radical criticisms of the state. Rather than focusing on the agency of a few prominent, conservative economists, Markets in the Name of Socialism reveals a dialogue among many economists on both sides of the Iron Curtain about democracy, socialism, and markets. These discussions led to the transformations of 1989 and, unintentionally, the rise of neoliberalism. This book takes a truly transnational look at economists' professional ideas over 100 years across the capitalist West and the socialist East. Clearly translating complicated economic ideas and neoliberal theories, it presents a significant reinterpretation of Cold War history, the fall of communism, and the rise of today's dominant economic ideology Challenging conventional accounts, Markets in the Name of Socialism chronicles a transnational dialogue among economists on both sides of the Iron Curtain about democracy, socialism, and markets. These exchanges led to the transformations of 1989 and, unintentionally, the rise of neoliberalism.