Mises and Hayek in “Kremikovtzi” MC

Abstract

The author makes an attempt to investigate functioning of the largest metallurgical plant in Bulgaria – “Kremikovtzi” MC – through the prism of Misesian and Hayekian arguments concerning the economic organization of the socialist society. The main conclusion is that the arguments with a high degree of abstraction – especially those of Mises - remain invisible at the level of a particular enterprise. The views of Hayek, however, those of the classical political economists, and of Simeon Demostenov find their confirmation in the everyday life of the metallurgical combine even before its official opening in 1963 and until the last day of the Bulgarian socialist regime in 1989. To some extend “Kremikovtzi” is representative for the economic reality in Bulgaria during the era of socialism and is indicative of the results and shortcomings of the state-implemented industrialization of the country. Bulgaria became an industrialized country, but it is not sure whether the industrialization was successful.