The article examines the results of market reforms in Kazakhstan in the post-Soviet period, comparing the past and present. For 30 years, the market economy has decided only some of the most pressing issues of the economy. The full transition to private ownership, which began in the 1990s, is already in its infancy. To get out of the current crisis in Kazakhstan, it is necessary to change the direction of economic development. The state must take responsibility for these changes. The result in the country should be a model of mixed economy, offering different forms of ownership. At the same time, the state must control the spheres that facilitate the lives of people and play a key role in the security of the country.