ECONOMICS IN THE TRANSFORMATION OF ECONOMIC SYSTEMS IN EASTERN EUROPE

Even several years after the beginning of transition from the collapsed communist systems to parliamentary democracy and market economy it cannot be convincingly stated that economists have been able to contribute to the fundamental systemic change. In spite of the doubtless successes of economics in the ex post facto analysis of economic processes of various social systems, economists' intellectual efforts have only been satisfactory to a limited extent. Since economics failed to deliver scientific foundations of a sound economic policy, trial and error and intuition have apparently been more useful in shaping economic policy than the contradictory views of respected economists. Economics cannot disregard the necessity of developing consistent and universally valid explanations that do not contradict each other and discovering the reasons of conflicts between existing theories. Taking this approach would also make it easier to determine those conditions under which it is appropriate to apply various theoretical explanations.