Highlighting the main problems posed by economic reform in communist countries, this book examines the countries of the former Soviet bloc and China. The author provides a comparative historical perspective in economic change from the creation of the Stalinist system through three major waves of reform, to the ultimate dismantling of the most socialist governments. He argues that the collapse of the European communist regimes was due to the failure of both incremental and radical reforms to adapt to the new economic challenges of the late-20th century.
Kayano Shigeru is the founder and director of the Kayano Shigeru Ainu Memorial Museum. He is a Diet member, the first Ainu to be elected. Kyoko Selden teaches Japanese at Cornell University. Lili Selden is a graduate student in Japanese literature at the University of Michigan.