Abstract
My personal observations of the conditions in and behaviors emitted by citizens in several socialist states and their capitalistic neighbors are first described and compared. I then discuss the applicability of behavioral theory to individual behavior in all environments and how those principles can be applied to an understanding of the emergence of capitalistic relationships. J suggest that behavioral theory is highly consistent with capitalistic arrangements, but quite problematic for socialistic ones. The difficulties include restricted variety of reinforcers, lack of response-reinforcer contingency, stimulus and response generalization, and modeling effects. The implications of the analysis are then briefly discussed.
Article PDF
Similar content being viewed by others
Avoid common mistakes on your manuscript.
References
Epling, W.F. & Pierce, W.D. (1983). Applied behavior analysis: New directions from the laboratory. the Behavior Analyst, 6, 27–38.
Gomulka, S. (1986). Growth, innovation, and reform in Eastern Europe. Madison, Wisconsin: University of Wisconsin Press.
Gorbachev, M. (1987). Perestroika. New York: Harper & Row.
Friedman, M. (1962). Capitalism and freedom. Chicago: University of Chicago Press.
Heinrich, H.G. (1986). Hungary: Politics, economics, and society. Boulder, Co.: Lynne Rienner.
Keen, M. (1967). A history of medieval Europe. New York: Frederick A Praeger.
Komai, J. (1980). Economics of shortage. Volume B. Amsterdam: North-Holland Publishing Co.
Komai, J. (1986). Contradictions and dilemmas: Studies on the socialist economy and society. Cambridge, MA: MIT Press.
Kristol, I. (1978). Comment, in Capitalism, socialism, and democracy: A symposium. Commentary, 65, 53–54.
Kunkel, J.H. (1985). Vivaldi in Venice: An historical test of psychological propositions. The Psychological Record, 35, 445–457.
Kunkel, J.H. (1986). The Vicos project: A cross cultural test of psychological propositions. The Psychological Record, 36, 451–466.
Lacroix, P. (1963). France in the middle ages: Customs, classes and conditions. New York: Frederick Unger
Lamal, P. A. (1984). Contingency management in the People’s Republic of China. The Behavior Analyst, 7, 121–130.
Levi-Strauss, C. (1963). Structural antropology. New York: Basic Books.
Marx, K. (1906). Capital I. Chicago: Charles H. Kerr.
Morrall, J.B. (1970). The medieval imprint. Baltimore: Penguin Books.
Painter, S. (1960). The family and the feudal system in twelfth-century England. Speculum, 35, 1–16.
Premack, D. (1965). Reinforcement theory. In D. Levine (Ed.). Nebraska Symposium on Motivation (Vol. 13). Lincoln: University of Nebraska Press.
Rakos, R.F. (1988). Metacontingency analysis of Hungarian society. Paper presented at the annual convention of the Association for Behavior Analysis, Philadelphia, May, 1988,
Schwartz, B. (1986). The battle for human nature: Science, morality, and modem life. New York: W. W. Norton & Co.
Schwartz, B. & Lacey, H. (1982), Behaviorism, science, and human nature. New York: W.W. Norton & Co.
Skinner, B.F. (1953). Science and human behavior. New York: MacMillan.
Skinner, B.F. (1971). Beyond freedom and dignity. New York: Bantam/Vintage.
Thompson, J.W. (1928). An economic and social history of the middle ages (300-1300). New York: Century.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Additional information
”Pure” capitalism and socialism are difficult to define as well as being nonexistent in the world today. My use of these terms is meant to identify the two general poles of the continua encompassing state versus private ownership of society’’s means of production and restricted versus unrestricted commerce. My argument, as will become clear, is that a behavioral analysis of the extant contingencies operating within each system is more enlightening than politcal or economic analyses.
I gratefully acknowledge the discussions with, and commentsand feedback by, Kennee Switzer-Rakos, which proved invaluable in the development of this paper. Portions of this paper were presented at the annual convention of the Association for Behavior Analysis, Nashville, May, 1987.
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Rakos, R.F. Capitalism, Socialism, and Behavioral Theory. BASA 6, 16–22 (1988). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF03449123
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF03449123