The political economy of Stalinism : evidence from the Soviet secret archives / Paul R. Gregory.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Gregory, Paul R., author.

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Bureaucracy--Soviet Union--History--Sources.

Bureaucracy.

Soviet Union--Economic conditions--Sources.

Soviet Union.

Soviet Union--Politics and government--Sources.

Physical Description:

1 online resource (xi, 308 pages) : digital, PDF file(s).

Place of Publication:

Cambridge : Cambridge University Press, 2004.

Language Note:

English

Summary:

This book uses the formerly secret Soviet state and Communist Party archives to describe the creation and operations of the Soviet administrative command system. It concludes that the system failed not because of the 'jockey'(i.e. Stalin and later leaders) but because of the 'horse' (the economic system). Although Stalin was the system's prime architect, the system was managed by thousands of 'Stalins' in a nested dictatorship. The core values of the Bolshevik Party dictated the choice of the administrative command system, and the system dictated the political victory of a Stalin-like figure. This study pinpoints the reasons for the failure of the system - poor planning, unreliable supplies, the preferential treatment of indigenous enterprises, the lack of knowledge of planners, etc. - but also focuses on the basic principal-agent conflict between planners and producers, which created a sixty-year reform stalemate.

Contents:

Cover; Half-title; Title; Copyright; Contents; Illustrations; Tables; Preface; 1 The Jockey or the Horse?; 2 Collectivization, Accumulation, and Power; 3 The Principles of Governance; 4 Investment, Wages, and Fairness; 5 Visions and Control Figures; 6 Planners Versus Producers; 7 Creating Soviet Industry; 8 Operational Planning; 9 Ruble Control: Money, Prices, and Budgets; 10 The Destruction of the Soviet Administrative-Command Economy; 11 Conclusions; Appendix A: Archival Sources; Appendix B: The Structure of the State; Bibliography; Index

Notes:

Title from publisher's bibliographic system (viewed on 05 Oct 2015).

Includes bibliographical references (p. 289-300) and index.

ISBN:

9780511106378

0511106378

9781107137974

1107137977

9781280161445

1280161442

9780511121449

051112144X

9780511205910

0511205910

9780511062575

0511062575

9780511308666

0511308663

9780511615856

051161585X

9780511071034

0511071035

OCLC:

437069125

Publisher Number:

2027/heb05244 hdl