The contradictions of "real socialism" : the conductor and the conducted / by Michael A. Lebowitz.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Lebowitz, Michael A.

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Communism.

Socialism.

Physical Description:

222 pages ; 22 cm

Place of Publication:

New York : Monthly Review Press, [2012]

Summary:

Lebowitz (economics, Simon Fraser U., Canada) presents a study of "Real Socialism" or "really existing socialism," a concept he says 20th-century socialist leaders contrived to distinguish their real experience from mere socialist ideas. His perspective is ultimately at odds with vanguard Marxism, but at the same time he explores "the possibility of socialism in a society divided between conductor and conducted." This division refers to relations between the vanguard parties and the working-class. In examining the contradictions of Real Socialism, Lebowitz considers the struggle between the logics of the vanguard and capital, the promise of plenty and the constant shortages, central planning and a society of associated producers, and the moral economy of the working-class and their implicit social contract. Annotation ©2012 Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)

Contents:

1 The Shortage Economy 29

2 The Social Contract 49

3 The Nature and Reproduction of Vanguard Relations of Production 67

4 Contested Reproduction within "Real Socialism" 89

5 The Conductor and the Battle of Ideas in the Soviet Union 107

6 From Moral Economy to Political Economy 131

7 Toward a Society of Associated Conductors 153

8 Good-bye to Vanguard Marxism 173.

Notes:

Includes bibliographical references and index.

ISBN:

9781583672563

1583672567

9781583672570

1583672575

OCLC:

726817830