ABSTRACT
In the transition from capitalism to socialism, labor power continues to be sold for wages, some surplus product is appropriated as individual privileges, and a money economy prevails. The transitional economy may be managed by bureaucrats uncommitted to the principle of political and economic participation by all the people, and private rather than public interest may be a motivating force. Some communities exhibit class distinctions based on a hierarchy of religious and political authority. The decentralized political structure of feudalism permitted the emergence of incipient capitalist urban centers; and the international commercial and colonial system stimulated financial resources and markets for capitalist development. The idea of a new stage in the era of advanced capitalism has been incorporated in interpretations developed since World War II in response to the long-term crisis of accumulation manifested as stagnation and financial speculation and growth in the center and as imperialist underdevelopment in the periphery.
