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Ask Prof Wolff: The Tragedy of Ex-Socialist Nations

Summary:
Why did the ex socialist European countries impose a very harsh capitalist system on themselves. Neoliberalism created winners and losers by about 50:50 in those countries, says Richard Wolff, but the winners took power and now they will not allow any socialism at all. Often, a very high percentage people in ex socialist countries want to return to the old system. A Patron of Economic Update asks: "How did the people of the USSR come to accept the radical shift back to capitalism? Did they not retain an expectation that people should own their homes and means of production? The mass privatization of the Soviet economy was followed by a decade long depression and a huge rise in poverty. How did that affect public perception of capitalism and socialism? Post-Soviet states seem even less

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Why did the ex socialist European countries impose a very harsh capitalist system on themselves. Neoliberalism created winners and losers by about 50:50 in those countries, says Richard Wolff, but the winners took power and now they will not allow any socialism at all. Often, a very high percentage people in ex socialist countries want to return to the old system. 


A Patron of Economic Update asks: "How did the people of the USSR come to accept the radical shift back to capitalism? Did they not retain an expectation that people should own their homes and means of production? The mass privatization of the Soviet economy was followed by a decade long depression and a huge rise in poverty. How did that affect public perception of capitalism and socialism? Post-Soviet states seem even less social-democratic than western European states, why is that?"





Mike Norman
Mike Norman is an economist and veteran trader whose career has spanned over 30 years on Wall Street. He is a former member and trader on the CME, NYMEX, COMEX and NYFE and he managed money for one of the largest hedge funds and ran a prop trading desk for Credit Suisse.

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