[WS:] The 1956 "thaw" in E. Europe came form the realization of the shortcomings of central planning by the architects of the system themselves. So the slouching toward the "mixed economy" is nothing new - Yugoslavia & Hungary traveled quite a distance on that road even when the good old USSR was alive and kicking.
I think that a far more interesting than "where is it all leading to" question is "who are the key players in that game?" and "how do they play their cards." In E. Europe (and China in the late 1960s) the "old guard" apparatchiks were able to outmaneuver the reforms and stall the process considerably. That probably tarnished the image of "socialism" beyond repair. Who knows how it all would have played out had Khruschev and his E. European counterparts prevailed? Cube could follow a similar trajectory or it could not - all depending who the players are and how they play the transition.
Wojtek