Communism And Development Routledge Revivals

First published in 1985, this book provides a comprehensive reappraisal of the diverse Communist development strategies that shaped the twentieth century. Robert Bideleux emphasises the appalling human and economic costs of the most widely adopted ‘Stalinist’ strategies of forced industrialisation and rural collectivisation. He also reconsiders the powerful arguments in favour of the most feasible and cost-effective alternatives to Stalinism, including ‘village communisms’ and ‘market socialisms’. A highly readable and challenging study, this reissue will be of particular value to students with research interests in Development Studies, East European History and Politics.

First published in 1967, The Soviet Middle East provides an analysis of the economic and political status of the national republics of Central Asia and Transcaucasia, which were, at the time of the book’s initial publication, a part of the Soviet Union. The authors analyse their economic achievements, as well as their rapid progress in health and education, comparing their situation with that of their non-Soviet neighbours and indeed with the rest of the USSR. They seek to define the relevance of the Soviet planning system and Soviet ideology to the development of these countries, and also to contextualise their study in terms of the problems of other developing countries and the political stability of the Soviet Union as a multi-nation state. Written by two leading authorities on the Soviet Union, this reissue will be welcomed by students of Soviet and Middle-Eastern history, and by all those interested in the political, social and economic development of Communist republics.

First published in 1986, this text brings together a selection of papers written by the great Alec Nove on development economics, Marxist economies, the Soviet economy, and law and politics in the Soviet Union. Reflecting the varied and diverse interests of its distinguished author, the topics range from Soviet constitutional law, to Trotsky’s view of collectivization; from a critique of conventional micro-economics, to the economic disaster of the Allende regime in Chile. The author’s long-standing immersion in the past and present of the Soviet Union helps to provide the unique insights into the workings of Socialist economies characteristic of Professor Nove’s previous work. This volume should be essential reading for anyone interested in development economics, socialist economies, or the problems facing contemporary Soviet economic reformers.

First published in 1987, this book comprises a critical evaluation of Marxist, Gramscian and pluralist theories of social development; the application of these theories, chiefly to Third World countries: hence consideration of the problems of ‘specificity’, general theory and social change. This is followed by an assessment of the stages of economic development in relation to state power and politics; and the role of the ‘external’: the impact of the world market economy and the security imperative. The book is not a discussion of theory, but of theory-in-practice. Above all, it represents a continuing debate between Marxism and pluralism – on the themes of accumulation, power, legitimacy – resulting in convergence.

First published in English in 1935, this is a vital and stimulating critical appraisal of contemporary thought in the post-World War One era. Written by a selection of leading Marxist thinkers including Nikolai Bukharin, who would later become one of the most famous victims of Stalin's show trials, this work offers a Marxist critique of contemporary thought relating to philosophy, science and history. The authors all lean towards the view that the general tendency of modern thought is to abandon the historical method and to deny progress, with the conclusion that Marxism was the only historical and progressive outlook in science, philosophy and history in the period following the First World War and the Communist revolution in Russia. A fascinating document of great historical and political interest which offers an invaluable insight into contemporary thought in the Soviet Union of the 1930s.

The essays and letters of Ervin Szabó (1877-1918) present proof of his critical insight into Marxist theory and of his perceptive analysis of socialism around the turn of the century. His ideals of an engaged social science and an enlightened socialism, his preoccupation with the socialist future, are still relevant today. The writings selected in this work, first published in 1982, are primarily those which address themselves to general issues of the European working-class movement and socialist theory, but there are also a few pieces that characterize the intellectual and political climate of early twentieth-century Budapest. Szabó was one of the theoretical leaders of a whole generation of progressive thinkers from Oscar Jászi through Karl and Michael Polányi to Georg Lukács and many others. The almost insurmountable conflict between theory and practice that characterized Ervin Szabo’s life remains a problem that has to be solved by engaged intellectuals whatever the time and place. Background notes and an introduction by the editors help to place the writings in their historical and political context.

First published in 1982. The dramatic changes in policy and theory following the death of Chairman Mao in 1976 and the publication of the most extensive official and unofficial data on the Chinese economy and society in twenty years both necessitated and made possible a thorough reconsideration of the full range of issues pertaining to the political and economic trajectory of the People’s Republic in its first three decades. The contributors to this volume initiated a comprehensive effort to address fundamental problems of China’s socialist development and to reassess earlier perspectives and conclusions.

First published in 1955 to wide acclaim, James Joll's introduction to the history and development of International Socialism before the First World War is of crucial importance for understanding the development of Left-wing movements in the 20th century: the difficulties posed by prominent anarchist groups, the ambiguities of the scope of revolutionary activity, and the challenges posed by the rise of nationalism. Incorporating insightful research into the international links and the ideological structure of socialism, as well as on the structure of individual parties and the actual nature of their working-class support, The Second International 1889-1914 is a valuable resource for political historians and students of socialist thought alike.

First Published in 1926, Towards Socialism or Capitalism? considers how the socialist economy of Soviet Russia, isolated in a capitalist world after Lenin's death, faced acute dangers. The three articles in this book, written between 1925 and 1932, discuss the fundamental problems of the Soviet economy from the New Economic Policy to forced collectivization. Published here in one volume, they are indispensable steps in the development of Trotsky's analysis of the Soviet Union, laid down in 1936 in 'The Revolution Betrayed'.