1.6. Blood Replacement and Shock Therapy

Why have many transition economies succeeded by pursuing policies which are so different from the radical economic liberalization (shock therapy) that is normally credited for the economic success of countries of Central Europe? First, optimal policies are context dependent, they are specific for each stage of development and what worked in Slovenia cannot be expected to work in Mongolia. Second, even for the countries with the same level of development reforms that are necessary to stimulate growth are different; they depend on the previous history and on the path chosen. The reduction of government expenditure as a share of GDP did not undermine significantly the institutional capacity of the state in China, but in Russia and other CIS countries it turned out to be ruinous. The art of the policymaker is to create markets without causing government failure, as happened in many CIS countries.

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Shock Therapy

BMJ ◽

10.1136/bmj.1.4334.159-a ◽

1944 ◽

Vol 1 (4334) ◽

pp. 159-159

Author(s):

D. N. Hardcastle

Keyword(s):

Shock Therapy

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Lung Abscess after Shock Therapy

BMJ ◽

10.1136/bmj.1.4706.586-c ◽

1951 ◽

Vol 1 (4706) ◽

pp. 586-587

Author(s):

R. Thompson

Keyword(s):

Shock Therapy ◽

Lung Abscess

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“Socialist Realist” Critiques of Neoliberal “Shock Therapy”

The Oxford Handbook of Communist Visual Cultures ◽

10.1093/oxfordhb/9780190885533.013.19 ◽

2019 ◽

pp. 431-451

Author(s):

April A. Eisman

Keyword(s):

Visual Culture ◽

East Germany ◽

Shock Therapy ◽

Socialist Realism ◽

Neoliberal Capitalism ◽

Works Of Art ◽

German Art ◽

Socialist Realist ◽

East German ◽

Insight Into

This article focuses on the East German artistic response to the 1973 putsch in Chile, an event now recognized as foundational in the development of neoliberalism. Outraged and saddened, artists in East Germany responded to the putsch with thousands of works of art. These works disrupt Western expectations for East German art, which was far more modern and complex than the term “socialist realism” might suggest. They also offer insight into the horrors of the putsch and remind us that there have been—and can once again be—alternatives to neoliberal capitalism. In addition to creating prints, paintings, and sculptures, East German artists organized solidarity events to raise money for Chile and spearheaded a book project with artists from sixteen communist and capitalist countries to document the event and losses suffered. This article ultimately shows that communist visual culture can serve as a model for art as an activist practice.

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