Description
Book SynopsisThe quest for freedom from hunger and repression has triggered in recent years a dramatic, worldwide reform of political and economic systems. Never have so many people enjoyed, or at least experimented with democratic institutions. However, many strategies for economic development in Eastern Europe and Latin America have failed with the result that entire economic systems on both continents are being transformed. This major book analyzes recent transitions to democracy and market-oriented economic reforms in Eastern Europe and Latin America. Drawing in a quite distinctive way on models derived from political philosophy, economics, and game theory, Professor Przeworski also considers specific data on individual countries. Among the questions raised by the book are: What should we expect from these experiments in democracy and market economy? What new economic systems will emerge? Will these transitions result in new democracies or old dictatorships?
Trade Review"Przeworski has written a very interesting book that is at times even exciting to read. He systematizes the interests of socially relevant groups in reform processes using simple game theoretic tools which allow him to proceed on an abstract level as well as on a more concrete one, illustrating his systematization with examples from both Latin America and Eastern Europe." Constitutional Political Economy
"Przeworski is a wise and insightful analyst unusually well placed to observe the transitions in both Eastern Europe and Latin America closely and thus, perhaps, uniquely qualified to theorize about them. The strength of the book lies in the effort to create general models of processes that are usually treated descriptively." American Political Science Review
"This razor-sharp little book by a cosmopolitan University of Chicago scholar is part of a remarkable series of studies on rationality and technical change at whose heart is the theoretical perspective of the 'multiple self': a self that loves justice as well as economic gain." Boston Globe
"Democracy and the Market is a genuinely path-breaking book. Przeworski's analyses are complex and subtle, and one cannot do justice to them in a brief review. The volume spans the globe and disciplines alike, ranging comfortably from Santiago to Bucharest and from economics to poltical philosophy, and provides us with an impressive analytical road map through the various transitions and their aftermaths." Ellen Comisso, Contemporary Sociology
"The books offers interesting and intellectually challenging reading. It can be proposed to a wide academic audience including scholars of comparative politics and economics, students and analysts....The vivid and, I dare say, charming style of writing, with many brilliantly inserted short anecdotes, contributes to the high quality of reading." Adam Török, Slavic Review
Table of ContentsIntroduction; A prologue: the fall of communism; 1. Democracy; 2. Transitions to democracy; 3. Capitalism and socialism; 4. The political dynamics of economic reform; References; Author index; Subject index.
