The Road to Socialism and Back — Peter Boettke & Rosolino Candela

On this episode of the Hayek Program Podcast, Rosolino Candela interviews Peter Boettke on his most recent book, The Road to Socialism and Back: An Economic History of Poland, 1939-2019, coauthored with Konstantin Zhukov and Matthew Mitchell.

Pete and Rosolino dive into the world of scarcity and limited information, discussing the road to socialism and back. What does socialism lead to? What is necessary for countries to transition from poverty to wealth? Why did Poland do better than its neighbors? Have we overcome poverty today?

They answer these questions and more and discuss the transitional gains trap, factors of recovery such as overcoming the pathology of privilege, shock therapy vs. gradualism and the issues with simultaneity, and the importance of critical people at critical times.

*Recorded August 17, 2023.

Peter Boettke is Vice President for Advanced Study, Director of the F.A. Hayek Program for Advanced Study in Philosophy, Politics, and Economics, as well as the BB&T Professor for the Study of Capitalism at the Mercatus Center at George Mason University, and a Professor of Economics and Philosophy at George Mason University.