作者乃世界经济学界大师级人物，有关社会主义经济的几部经典之作——《短缺经济学》、《通向自由经济之路》均是其重量级著作。这部经济学著作是科尔奈1995年以前研究成果的集大成之作，作者将传统社会主义（即文中的“经典社会主义”）作为自己分析和研究的对象，对其“所有主要领域：政治架构、意识形态、严格意义上的经济和对经济的监管、体制内部的信息流动、典型的社会关系以及由政治—社会—经济环境塑造的典型行为特征”进行了鞭辟入里的分析和解读，不失为中国人探索建设中国特色的社会主义道路的必备参考书。

To understand the dramatic collapse of the socialist order and the current turmoil in the formerly communist world, this comprehensive work examines the most important common properties of all socialist societies. JNBnos Kornai brings a life-long study of the problems of the socialist system to his explanation of why inherent attributes of socialism inevitably produced in-efficiency. In his past work he has focused on the economic sphere, maintaining consistently that the weak economic performance of socialist countries resulted from the system itself, not from the personalities of top leaders or mistakes made by leading organizations and planners.This book synthesizes themes from his earlier investigations, while broadening the discussion to include the role of the political power structure and of communist ideology. Kornai distinguishes between two types, or historical phases, of socialism. The 'classical socialism' of Stalin, Mao, and their followers is totalitarian and brutally repressive, but its components fit together and make up a coherent edifice. Associated with names like Tito, KNBdar, Deng-Xiaoping, and Gorbachev, 'reform socialism' relaxes repression, but brings about a sharpening of inner contradictions and the eventual dissolution of the system.Kornai examines the classical system in the first half of the book, and moves on to explore the complex process of reform in the second half. "The Socialist System" is addressed to economists in the first place, but also to political scientists, sociologists, and historians. In addition, it will appeal to policymakers, business analysts, and government officials who need to understand either formerly or presently communist countries.