Varieties of Post-communist Capitalism A comparative analysis of Russia, Eastern Europe and China (Studies in Critical Social Sciences)

This book intends to be a contribution to the varieties of capitalism paradigm. Our main question is to what extent the present system in Russia, the model of President Putin is a generic model for all post-communist capitalisms. Varieties of Post-communist Capitalism: A Comparative Analysis of Russia, Eastern Europe and China 3 Copyright 4 Contents 5 Preface 7 List of Figures, Tables and Boxes 18 1 Introduction 21 2 Legitimacy under Communism and Post-communism: Theoretical Background 33 1 When Is a Rule 'Illegitimate'? 33 2 The Three Ideal Types of Legitimate Authority (and the Fourth) 39 3 Various Types of Traditional Authority 46 4 The Sources of Income and Wealth - A Complete Historical Overview 49 3 Varieties of Communism 57 1 Introductory Remarks 57 2 What Is/Was Communism? The Political Economy of the Classical System 59 3 Systems of Domination under Various Types of Communism 61 4 Reforming the Communist Economy 67 5 The Governance of State-Owned Enterprises 69 6 Stratification Regimes under Various Communist Formations 72 4 Reinterpretation of Inequalities and Rent-Seeking in Advanced Market Economies 85 1 Profits versus Rents 87 2 Changing and New Forms of Rents 89 3 Institutional Consequences of Rent 95 4 Class Reproduction through the Accumulation of Human and Cultural Capital 96 5 The Counter-Revolution of Nation States in the Name of More Equality 99 5 The Divergent Pathways Out of Communism 105 1 Introductory Comments Distinguishing Three Pathways to Capitalisms 105 2 The Liberal Model 107 3 The Patrimonial Model 118 4 Market Socialism or Capitalism from Below? 127 5 The Structure of Post-communist Societies during the First Phases of Transformation 147 6 Consolidation and Partial Re-convergence of Post-communist Pathways? 172 1 Eastern European Liberal Democracies Successes and Crises, 2000-2010 172 2 The New Legitimacy and a New Political Economy Illiberal Managed Democracy and Prebendalism 179 3 The Ideology of Post-communist Traditionalism 199 4 Liberal-Democratic Ways to Capitalism in Eastern Europe The Emergence of Prebendalism? 209 5 Is China on the Road to Putinism? 218 6 Social Structure in Post-communist Societies in or on the Way to Prebendalism 228 7 Conclusions: Is Putinism a Model for Post-communism? 231 Bibliography 239 Name Index 256 Subject Index 259 "This book intends to be a contribution to the 'varieties of capitalism' paradigm. The theoretical background is Weber's theory of legitimacy. Was communism ever 'legitimate'? What kind of legitimacy claims were made in the transition from communism to capitalism? Central Europe was closer to the Western 'liberal' model. Russia built capitalism in a patrimonial way. China followed its own unique way; some called it 'socialism with Chinese characteristics'. Putin experiments with an innovation for post-communist capitalism. He confronts the 'oligarchs', reallocates property from those who challenge his political authority to old and new loyal ones. In the conclusion the central question is to what extent 'Putinism' is a generic model for post-communist capitalism?"-- Provided by publisher This book intends to be a contribution to the “varieties of capitalism” paradigm. The theoretical background is Weber's theory of legitimacy. Was communism ever “legitimate”? What kind of legitimacy claims were made in the transition from communism to capitalism? Central Europe was closer to the Western “liberal” model. Russia built capitalism in a patrimonial way. China followed its own unique way; some called it “socialism with Chinese characteristics”. Putin experiments with an innovation for post-communist capitalism. He confronts the “oligarchs” and reallocates property from those who challenge his political authority to old and new loyal ones. In conclusion, the central question is to what extent is “Putinism” a generic model for post-communist capitalism?