Some Refections on Transition: Its Roots, Complexity of the Process, and Role of the IMF and Other Organizations by Vito Tanzi published by The Palgrave Handbook of Comparative Economics (2021)
1 Historical Background on Central Planning At the end of the nineteenth century when the Marxist branch of socialism— the version that would nationalize the means of production and eliminate free markets replacing them with decisions made by central planners representing the Communist Party—started attracting large followings among workers and intellectuals, the reaction of orthodox and, predominantly, laissez-faire economists was highly skeptical. Tey doubted that such a system could be feasible in the real world. Economic systems need a market, and a market needs prices, for determining the use and the exchange of capital and consumer goods. It was also realized that markets need some essential public and private institutions to protect property rights, insure the sanctity of contracts, and prevent abuses.
