Mihályi Péter

Redistribution attempts of the Hungarian national wealth in the 20th and 21st centuries

Viewed from the perspective of 20th-century Hungarian history, we consider the entire Orbán era (including the cycle between 1998-2002) to be the ninth attempt to redistribute the national wealth. The "nationalization versus privatization" dichotomy, which I have used without reservation in my previous works, is not really suitable for the analysis of the last 12 years. Today it can be seen that Viktor Orbáns real goal is not nationalization. The real goal is elite change, which does not necessarily mean a change of ownership between macroeconomic actors (households, firms and the state). Much more important are the changes of ownership within the three actor groups. Whether this happens through nationalization or privatization is secondary. The state is always a bad owner, whether it buys or sells. These are the most important take-home messages of this study.

LXX. évf., 2023. April (349 - 364. O.), DOI:10.18414/KSZ.2023.4.349, Inaugural lecture

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