Capitalism and Socialism

Today it seems possible to take pencil in hand and calculate the number of variants of development (within the framework of the relation of these alternatives) that are opposed to the classical Marxist formational scenario of the movement from capitalism to socialism ([variant] 1). The theory of convergence of the two systems (2)—one of the earliest variants of the radical rethinking of the traditional dichotomy: socialism-capitalism—can be taken as the reference point. A new variant that took into account the strategic change in world social development—the end of the confrontation of world social systems—was advanced in the eighties. It is now found that capitalization and socialization cannot only be processes belonging to different systems, but must also be realized (combined) in the development of the same system (3). This observation applies chiefly to developed Western countries with a mixed, polyform economy. The classical model that is usually cited is the Scandinavian model of the welfare state.