International Consequences of the Economic Reforms in Planned Economies

It is very difficult to forecast the consequences of events in the making. Seen from a ‘capitalist’ point of view, the ‘reformed socialist economy’ is certainly a puzzling object, to which the classical, or standard, centrally-planned economy might be preferred. On the micro-level, reforms have as a first consequence a disorganising effect. Instead of trading (exceptionally cooperating) with state trading entities (the well-known FTOs, foreign trade organisations), the businessman has now to find his way among all sorts of potential partners who themselves know little about their own rights and about foreign trade in general. On the macro-level, the governments of the reform-ed or reform-ing socialist economies claim to be treated according to the usual practice applying to market economies, and the past (and future) negotiations between the EEC and the eastern European countries are a demonstration of this. When shifting from the strictly economic to the political perspective, there is the feeling that the west ‘should’ help the east so as to be logical with a past policy which promised more flexibility on the part of the west if only the ‘collectivist’ regimes were to abandon the principles of directive planning, overwhelming domination of state ownership, and a single-party political system. But how, and to achieve what?