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Council for Mutual Economic Assistance (COMECON)

Definition

COMECON was an economic organization from 1949-1991 under Soviet control that included various eastern bloc and other socialist states around the world. Its purpose was to create a common planning mechanism for these economies.

Analogy

Imagine if a school club decided that instead of everyone doing their own thing, they would work together on projects and share resources. That's kind of like COMECON - it was designed so socialist states could cooperate economically rather than compete against each other.

Related terms

Eastern Bloc: The group of socialist states under Soviet influence during the Cold War.

Soviet Union (USSR): A federal socialist state in northern Eurasia that existed from 1922 to 1991 which had political and military control over many Eastern European nations post-WWII

Planned Economy: An economic system in which production, investment, prices, and incomes are determined centrally by a government.