In this article, the author Enikő Vincze offers a perspective on the transformations from capitalism to socialism and from socialism to so-called neoliberal capitalism through an analysis of the Romanian state-socialist financial system that enabled the creation of a mixed housing regime and the creation of a capitalist financial system, which led to the financialization of housing as part of Romania’s integration into neoliberal global capitalism as an emerging market. Additionally, the author revisits the legacy of Romanian state socialism to enrich the debate about alternatives to contemporary capitalism.
Enikő Vincze is a professor on sociology at Babeș-Bolyai University and a researcher on housing regimes and urban (re)development in the context of capitalist transformations in European semiperipheries. She acts as a political activist within the Căși sociale ACUM!/Social Housing NOW! movement from Cluj, Romania, and is among the initiators of the informal network of public intellectuals Viziunea Socialistă (Socialist Vision).
