One by One, the Centrally-Planned Economies of the Communist Countries

Essay

One by one, the centrally-planned economies of the communist countries have collapsed, and the remaining communist nations are either tilting strongly toward the market system--China--or are on the verge of collapse --Cuba. Yet, the market system, even though it seems to have emerged as the winner, is based on morally dubious values--greed, desire for profit, competition. It leaves in its wake many victims. How can the market system be reformed to make it more humane? Or should the economy be concerned with morality in the first place? What can we do with those who fall by the wayside, for whom the market system does not work?