In Search of a New Economic Strategy

Current economic trends in Russia and in many other countries more than ever challenge the theoretical and practical approaches to economic strategy which have been developed within the most recent decades. The need for a fundamentally new approach is becoming more evident, as has happened at other turning points in economic history. One version of such a paradigm is offered by L.P. and R.N. Evstigneev, who develop it in a series of works on economic synergetics. Their most recent book 'The Strategy of Russia's Economic Development: A Theoretical Aspect', reviewed here, extends some of the earlier ideas from 'Synergetics in Humanities'. The authors develop a thesis, according to which a new economic strategy must be developed in accordance with a new type of economic integrity, which they call economic synergetics. This concept is thoroughly analysed in the current review, and the reviewer follows the authors in showing that the economy of the future is already being shaped by elements of the past and the present, although many of us may not even notice it. They emphasize that the key implication of this for Russia is that it must recognize that the economy must lie at the core of a new cultural age. Economic growth in this new paradigm is not so much connected with investment stimulation, but with the creation of conditions that foster freedom of choice, creativity, cooperation, and, correspondingly, the formation of a new type of social mentality.