Varieties of Post-communist Capitalism: A Comparative analysis of Russia, Eastern Europe and China

by Iván Szelényi, Peter Mihalyi

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. This book asks to what extent such forms can serve as generic models for post-communist capitalism?

Genres: China

243 pages, Paperback

Published November 24, 2020

About the author

Iván Szelényi (born April 17, 1938 in Budapest) is a noted Hungarian-American sociologist, as of 2010 the Dean of Social Sciences at New York University Abu Dhabi.