ABSTRACT
In the statist countries the experience has been of a monolithic political system, chronic shortage and a lack of dynamism, which have given rise to alienation, apathy and conformism. In the capitalist countries it has taken the form of welfare paternalism, state sector insensitivity to consumers and users, corporatism and inefficiency due to the partial suspension of the restructuring function of capitalist economic crises. Social control requires political and economic democracy and is therefore incompatible with both statism and private ownership. In the economic sphere the emphasis is on more autonomy for enterprises, with wages related to efficiency and output quality. The role of the state in economic and social life has been partially redefined and reshaped. The alternative economic strategy was the nearest the left has come in the post-war period to developing a hegemonic strategy. In capitalist societies in the economic sphere it complements and modifies the influence of market forces, which remain dominant.
