Introduction

Abstract

The irony of the postcommunist transitions to capitalism is that while they are aimed at eventual reduction of political involvement in the economy, their success depends crucially on political developments. Politics is again in command. Liberal capitalism is being constructed by the force of the blueprints formulated by the new elites and their economic advisors. Market anxiety is not motivated solely for economic reasons, such as greater efficiency of resource allocation; the driving force behind the economic transformation is also political and ideological. A market economy based on private ownership is envisaged as the counterpart in the economic domain of democracy in the political arena. Likewise, the consequences of economic reform are not limited to the economic area. The early effects of market-oriented economic reforms increase insecurity, inequality and apparent foreign influence, just as major sectors of the population begin to find themselves empowered politically. Under such conditions, democracy in the political realm easily works against economic reform.