Gorbachev as a Social Market Economist

Gorbachev is in the process of not only abolishing central planning and the privileges of the nomenclatura but also establishing broad political dialogue and elections, and, most importantly, at least some forms of private property and the price mechanism. He realises that socioeconomic theories which abstract themselves from the observations and needs of daily life have little relevance. Furthermore, he is aware of the fact that a meaningful paradigm has to pay attention to society′s values, i.e. to the interrelationship of personal initiative, morality, law, government and public policy. Hence, Gorbachev advocates the establishment of more favourable socioeconomic conditions to lay the foundation for a “functional social market economy”, however defined, in the Soviet Union.