The transformation of state socialism in Russia: from «chaotic» economy to state-led cooperative capitalism

Abstract

In Russia the transition to capitalism has not turned out in the ways planned by neo-liberals. Author considers such questions as what type of economic formation has been created and what is the appropriate model for the future. Here the transformation is analysed in terms of the forms of company structure, the economic outcomes and patterns of social integration (or disintegration), elite and class fragmentation. On the basis of a comparative political economy, the paper defines different models of capitalism (competitive or market-led and cooperative or negotiated). On the criteria of these paradigms, the contemporary Russian economy is defined as a perverse chaotic social formation. Finally, it is contended that policy should move in the direction of a more cooperative state-led «negotiated» system.