Theorizing socialism: a prologue to the “transition”

Abstract

The startling transformations of eastern European polities during 1989 offer anthropologists a remarkable opportunity: firsthand observation of the “transition from socialism,” the process by which the internal organization of these societies and their place within western political and economic circuits will be reconfigured. As a contribution to conceptualizing the possible forms of the transition, this article offers a theoretical model of the “socialism” from which these societies begin their departure. The article concludes by suggesting some research problems that follow from the model. [theory, socialism, eastern Europe, political economy, cultural politics, social change]