The collapse of socialism took most economists by surprise. Finding themselves unable to timely predict and correctly assess the development of events, they subsequently pretended that nothing special had happened and, as if nothing had happened, got busy with current problems. However, the author of this book is deeply convinced of the fundamental need to make a critical reappraisal of the studies of socialism carried out so far and the theoretical tools used in them. His work draws on the theory of the impossibility of economic calculation under socialism, developed in the 1920s by Ludwig von Mises and Boris Brutzkus, Michael Polanyi's concept of tacit and unarticulated knowledge, Mises-Kirzner's theory of entrepreneurship, Hayek's concept of spontaneous order and his ideas about the role of knowledge in economics. The book also details the debate about the impossibility of economic calculation under socialism, which flared up among economists in the 1930s. This entire conceptual apparatus is used to analyze the socialist economy. This makes the book relevant for understanding modern processes occurring in the economies of different countries. The book is intended for students and teachers of economic specialties, professionals working in the field of economic analysis. It will also be useful to people who influence the development of economic policy - legislators, government experts, heads of executive authorities.