The failed experiment with abolition of serfdom in Russia reminds us of a crucial fact: the transformation of trifunctional and slave societies into ownership societies requires the formation of a centralized state capable of guaranteeing property rights; exercising a monopoly of legitimate violence; and establishing a relatively autonomous legal, fiscal, and justice system—otherwise local elites will continue to wield power and maintain subaltern classes in a state of dependence. In Russia, the transition was made directly to something new: a communist society of the soviet type.
