A major difference between the economic systems of the United States and the former Soviet Union was that in the Soviet Union:

self-interest was eliminated.
economic coordination relied heavily on the market mechanism.
a system of central planning determined what goods would be produced.
self-interest, though never completely eliminated, was gradually being replaced with pure social consciousness.


Economic coordination in the former Soviet Union was most heavily based on:

property rights and the invisible hand of the market.
the replacement of self-interest with altruism.
direction and regulation by the government.
tradition, custom, and habit.


Back to Reading Overview Next Page