ABSTRACT
The extent to which reforms have been implemented varies considerably between different countries. In Russia, although there is much discussion of privatization and a very ambitious programme has been put into operation, the general situation suggests at best that a very problematic economic transformation is taking place. The situation probably varies considerably between different parts of the country, depending partly on the degree of enthusiasm of local officials for privatization. In Poland, various political conflicts and scandals led to a postponement of a large-scale privatization programme, similar to the Czechoslovak model, aimed at the 400 leading state enterprises. A major problem of privatization for the working class throughout eastern Europe has been that, although they were excluded in many ways both from material rewards and from effective decision-making in the old system, private ownership and the market economy threaten new and potentially harsher forms of exclusion.
