Which one of the following is not a consequence of Shock Therapy in post-communist societies in the 1990s?

The old system of social welfare was systematically revived.

The correct answer is Option (3) → The old system of social welfare was systematically revived.

Shock Therapy, a rapid transition from a state-controlled economy to a market-based one in post-communist countries, had the opposite effect. It led to the systematic destruction of the old social welfare system, as the government withdrew subsidies and social safety nets. This pushed a large section of the population into poverty and hardship.

Its consequences included:

• It did not deliver mass consumption or prosperity as promised.

• The ruble collapsed in value.

• Privatisation created oligarchs and widened economic disparities.

• The old socialist welfare system was dismantled, not revived — leading to unemployment, poverty, and insecurity.