- Title Pages
- Dedication
- Figures
- Tables
- Preface
- 1 The Subject and Method
- 2 The Antecedents and Prototypes of the System
- 3 Power
- 4 Ideology
- 5 Property
- 6 Coordination Mechanisms
- 7 Planning and Direct Bureaucratic Control
- 8 Money and Price
- 9 Investment and Growth
- 10 Employment and Wages
- 11 Shortage and Inflation: The Phenomena
- 12 Shortage and Inflation: The Causes
- 13 Consumption and Distribution
- 14 External Economic Relations
- 15 The Coherence of the Classical System
- 16 The Dynamics of the Changes
- 17 The “Perfection” Of Control
- 18 Political Liberalization
- 19 The Rise of the Private Sector
- 20 Self‐Management
- 21 Market Socialism
- 22 Price Reforms
- 23 Macro Tensions
- 24 Concluding Remarks
- References
- Bibliography on Postsocialist Transition
- Author Index
- Subject Index
The “Perfection” Of Control
The “Perfection” Of Control
- Chapter:
- (p.396) 17 The “Perfection” Of Control
- Source:
- The Socialist System
- Author(s):
János Kornai (Contributor Webpage)
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
The ‘perfection’ of control described in this chapter refers to the sorts of apparently genuine changes to the classical socialist system seen in official declarations, regulations, and campaigns that, in fact, result in no alterations to the basic features of the system. These pseudoreforms are initiated by people who have realized that there is something wrong, but are still convinced that the system is basically right and would operate better if ‘perfected’. The ‘perfection’ tendency results in reorganization, and this is shown to have occurred at upper and lower levels during the course of disintegration of socialist systems. Another factor in the perfection tendency is the transformation of planning and direct control. Eventually, it is realized that no amount of reorganization or transformation of planning and control will improve the situation.
Keywords: classical socialism, perfection of control, planning, reform, reorganization, socialist systems
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- Title Pages
- Dedication
- Figures
- Tables
- Preface
- 1 The Subject and Method
- 2 The Antecedents and Prototypes of the System
- 3 Power
- 4 Ideology
- 5 Property
- 6 Coordination Mechanisms
- 7 Planning and Direct Bureaucratic Control
- 8 Money and Price
- 9 Investment and Growth
- 10 Employment and Wages
- 11 Shortage and Inflation: The Phenomena
- 12 Shortage and Inflation: The Causes
- 13 Consumption and Distribution
- 14 External Economic Relations
- 15 The Coherence of the Classical System
- 16 The Dynamics of the Changes
- 17 The “Perfection” Of Control
- 18 Political Liberalization
- 19 The Rise of the Private Sector
- 20 Self‐Management
- 21 Market Socialism
- 22 Price Reforms
- 23 Macro Tensions
- 24 Concluding Remarks
- References
- Bibliography on Postsocialist Transition
- Author Index
- Subject Index
