Class theory and history : capitalism and communism in the USSR / Stephen A. Resnick & Richard D. Wolff.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Resnick, Stephen A.

Contributor:

Wolff, Richard D.

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Social classes--Soviet Union.

Social classes.

Soviet Union.

Communism--Soviet Union.

Communism.

Soviet Union--Social conditions.

Social conditions.

Soviet Union--Social policy.

Social policy.

Capitalism.

Physical Description:

xiv, 353 pages ; 23 cm

Place of Publication:

New York : Routledge, 2002.

Summary:

"Class Theory and History" takes an ambitious and ground-breaking look at the entire history of the Soviet Union and presents a new kind of analysis of the history of the USSR: examining its birth, evolution, and death in class terms. Utilizing the class analytics they have developed over the last three decades, resnick and Wolff formulate the most fully developed economic theory of communism now available, and use that theory to answer the question: did communism ever exist in the USSR and if so, where, why and for how long? Their initial, and controversial, conclusion: Soviet industry never established a communist class structure. This conclusion then leads to the hypothesis that the USSR and provate capitalism in the United States to discuss the future of private capitalism, state capitalism and communism.

Contents:

Part 1 Communism

Chapter 1 A General Class Theory 3

The Classical Tradition 5

Utopia and Communism: A Brief Digression 10

A Concrete Communism 13

Communist Class Structures: Centralization versus Decentralization 16

Culture, Politics, and Economics of Communism 20

Appendix How Societies Differ

A Methodological Problem 42

Chapter 2 The Many Forms of Communism 51

Class and Property 52

Class and Markets 59

Class and Power 65

Classless Communism and Proletarian Dictatorship 71

Socialism and Communism 74

Part 2 State Capitalism

Chapter 3 A Class Theory of State Capitalism 85

Capitalisms and Exploitation 85

Justifying the Label "Capitalist" 88

Value Analysis for State Capitalism: A Technical Digression 92

Capitalisms, Communisms, and Socialisms 95

Chapter 4 Debates over State Capitalism 104

Conflicting Concepts 104

Power as the Theoretical Key 111

Weaknesses of Power Theories 119

Part 3 The Rise and Fall of the USSR

Chapter 5 Class Structures and Tensions before 1917 133

The Fundamentals: Feudal, Ancient, Capitalist, and Communist 133

The Complexities 143

The Contradictions and the Revolution 146

Chapter 6 Revolution, War Communism, and the Aftermath 156

Changing the State and Class Structures 158

Organizing the New Class Structures 164

A Class and Value Analysis of War Communism 169

Class Contradictions after War Communism 175

Chapter 7 Revolution, Class, and the Soviet Household 183

Bolshevik Class Blindness 185

New Economic Policy/Old Household Policy 192

Chapter 8 The New Economic Policies of the 1920s 206

Relations between Agriculture and Industry: An Overview 209

The NEP in Class and Value Terms 213

A History of NEP Contradictions 222

Adjusting State Industrial Capitalism 227

Revolution and NEP as a Transition to State Capitalism 229

Chapter 9 The Transformations of the 1930s 237

New Complexities and Contradictions 238

Communism in Agriculture 243

State Capitalism and Industry 257

The Industrial Workers 262

Stalinism and Class 268

Appendix A The Value Equation for Collective Farms 273

Appendix B The Value Crisis of Collective Farms 274

Chapter 10 Class Contradictions and the Collapse 281

Class Structures after World War Two 282

Postwar Culture 286

Postwar Politics 298

Postwar Economy 310

State, Enterprise, and Household Transitions 316

The Collapse 321

Appendix A The Value Equation for Military Expenditures 325

Appendix B The Value Equation for International Terms of Trade 326.

Notes:

Includes bibliographical references (pages [335]-346) and index.

ISBN:

041593317X

0415933188

OCLC:

48618309