Les critiques du choix de la thérapie de choc

Russian economists were initially in favour of a gradual move from a planned economy to a market economy. Under the influence of the International Monetary Fund and Western experts, the transition was accelerated by the so-called "shock therapy" policy, on the one hand to make the process irreversible by reducing the authoritarian role of the state, and on the other hand by the blind trust in the quasi-automatic regulatory qualities of the market economy. Many economists, however, have called for the maintenance of a regal power capable of safeguarding the collective interests of citizens and the indispensable role of public authorities in the regulation and orientation of the national economy. Russia has had to face a double transition, from a highly militarised economy to a competitive one for which it was not well prepared. The conversion of the arms industries made many investments obsolete. Shock therapy has caused considerable economic and social damage, with the absence of necessary public investment, and cuts in health and education spending.