This presentation will consider some major things that were in retrospect ill-advised in terms of the policy given to the transition economics, and what we might learn from this experience. The discussion takes place in the context of the lacklustre economic performance of the transition economies in the past thirty years; in stark contrast to those economies that continued on the socialist track like China and Vietnam. In the light of this, perhaps advice concerning the ongoing economic influence of the state; the emphasis on free market decision-making and the critical role of private ownership should have been nuanced.