← Search

Journal of Economic Literature Vol. 55 No. 1 2017

Capitalism and Socialism: A Review of Kornai's Dynamism, Rivalry, and the Surplus Economy

Chenggang Xu

Cheung Kong Graduate School of Business

open access

Abstract

Understanding the nature of capitalism has been a central theme of economics. The collapse of the Eastern Bloc and the global financial crisis spurred the reemergence of the political economy as a new frontier and the revival of interest in the nature of capitalism. János Kornai's book Dynamism, Rivalry, and the Surplus Economy: Two Essays on the Nature of Capitalism fills an important intellectual gap in understanding the dynamic nature of capitalism by comparing it with its mirror image, socialism. To further develop the themes contained in the book, serious challenges are posed theoretically and empirically, as well as in subjects, such as hybrid capitalism.

DOI
10.1257/jel.20151282
Volume
55
Issue
1
Pages
191-208
Language
en
Sources
crossref openalex

Cite