A Periodical Study on the Economic Aspects of Atatürk's Statism

Abstract

State socialism is a concept that refers to the intervention of the State in the economic sphere for the highest welfare and interests of the nation while relying on individual initiative and capital. It is accepted that Mustafa Kemal Atatürk, the founding leader of the modern Republic of Turkey, and his enlightened comrades-in-arms adopted state socialism in the economic field. We can say that there were many reasons for the adoption of state socialism in the conditions of that period. Among these reasons were the statist, nationalist and leftist ideology of Mustafa Kemal Pasha and his friends and the economic and political support the Bolsheviks gave to the newly established government of the Republic of Turkey. In addition, perhaps the most important reason was the country's lack of private enterprise and capital after the War of Independence. The country's lack of rich capital and sufficient entrepreneurs made a statist industrialisation step inevitable after the 1930s. The first five-year industrial programme implemented within this framework was directed towards ensuring the production of the products needed by the country. In the second five-year industrial programme, the export power and structure and foreign trade balance were considered rather than the country's needs. In both industrialisation programmes, investments were mainly financed by loans received from foreign states, and a sure success was achieved in industrialisation through technology trade.