Economic Rationality and Soviet Politics

Economic Rationality and Soviet Politics PDF Author: Alec Nove
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category : Russia
Languages : en
Pages : 322

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Economic Rationality and Soviet Politics

Economic Rationality and Soviet Politics PDF Author: Alec Nove
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category : Russia
Languages : en
Pages : 322

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Book Description


The Soviet Quest for Economic Rationality

The Soviet Quest for Economic Rationality PDF Author: Willem Keizer
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category : Soviet Union
Languages : en
Pages : 292

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Ideology and Rationality in the Soviet Model

Ideology and Rationality in the Soviet Model PDF Author: Kristian Gerner
Publisher: Routledge
ISBN: 1000544532
Category : Business & Economics
Languages : en
Pages : 469

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Book Description
First published in 1989, Ideology and Rationality in the Soviet Model assumes that since the October Revolution the development of the Soviet Union has essentially been a process of trial and error. Economic rationality has been sacrificed to political expedients, and the cultural sphere has been put to use as a legitimating and rationalizing device. This book analyses the internal logic of this process from the 1917 Bolshevik Revolution to Gorbachev’s ‘revolution from above’, including coverage of the Stalin, Khrushchev and Brezhnev eras. The book focuses on the structural determinants of the Soviet Model, thus seeking to reveal the specific rationalities that characterizes ‘Soviet man’. Its conclusion casts serious doubt on the likelihood of new policies defeating seven decades of Bolshevik rule and social indoctrination. It will be of interest to students of economics, political science and history.

Was Stalin Really Necessary?

Was Stalin Really Necessary? PDF Author: Alec Nove
Publisher: Routledge
ISBN: 1136629475
Category : Business & Economics
Languages : en
Pages : 285

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Book Description
First published in 1964, Was Stalin Really Necessary? is a thought-provoking work which deals with many aspects of the Soviet political economy, planning problems and statistics. Professor Nove starts with an attempt to evaluate the rationality of Stalinism and discusses the possible political consequences of the search for greater economic efficiency, which is followed by a controversial discussion of Kremlinology. The author goes on to analyse the situation of the peasants as reflected in literary journals, then looks at industrial and agricultural problems. There are elaborate statistical surveys of occupational patterns and the purchasing power of wages, followed by an examination of the irrational statistical reflection of irrational economic decisions. Professor Nove’s essay on social welfare was, unlike some of his other work, used in the Soviet press as evidence against over-enthusiastic cold-warriors, among whom the author was not always popular. Finally, the author seeks to generalise about the evolution of world communism.

Economics And Politics In The USSR

Economics And Politics In The USSR PDF Author: Hans-Hermann Hohmann
Publisher: Routledge
ISBN: 0429709625
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 225

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Book Description
Soviet scholars have apparently stayed clear of meaningful analysis of such touchy subjects as interdependence and conflict in the relationship between economics and politics. Very little has been published on this issue—no surprise in a system that controls centrally both politics and the economy, with an emphasis on rapid economic development. The absence of meaningful Soviet research led the Federal Institute for East European and International Studies in Cologne to sponsor an international interdisciplinary conference on the subject. Contributions to the resulting book cover three main areas. The first includes the impact of traditional Russian political culture on contemporary Soviet economic thinking and behavior, the rank of economic aims in the priority system of Soviet politics, and the function of economic institutions in the implementation of political aims. The second concerns the role of political lobbies in the economy and repercussions of economic change for Soviet politics. Foreign economic relations and the USSR's foreign policy make up the third area. The concluding discussion reviews the state of international research and identifies areas for future study.

Soviet Economic Thought and Political Power in the USSR

Soviet Economic Thought and Political Power in the USSR PDF Author: Aron Katsenelinboigen
Publisher: Elsevier
ISBN: 1483154688
Category : Political Science
Languages : en
Pages : 228

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Book Description
Soviet Economic Thought and Political Power in the USSR examines the evolution of economic theory in the Soviet Union from uniformity under Josef Stalin to diversity in the post-Stalin period. The reasons for uniformity and diversity in Soviet economics are analyzed, along with the structure of this diversity, the paradoxes in its development, and the conditions under which it will continue. The connection between leaders of Soviet economics and the Communist Party rulers is also discussed. Emphasis is placed on one of the principal trends in Soviet economics in the post-Stalin period: mathematical economics. This book is comprised of six chapters and begins with a discussion on the development of the economic-mathematical trend in the USSR. The social environment in the Soviet Union is examined in macro terms, along with the role of various mutations among the economists and the institutionalization of such mutations, especially in the framework of the existing research institutes and universities. The book also considers the attitudes of various factions of economists such as reactionaries, conservatives, and modernizers toward the question of the limitation of the leaders' power and toward some areas of economics, such as problems of mathematical modeling and institutional economics, and toward the Marxist ideology. The final chapter highlights the confusing struggle among the various trends in Soviet economics and the ways in which this struggle is supported by the country's political leaders. This monograph will be of interest to economists, political scientists, politicians, and economic policymakers.

The Economics of Soviet Planning

The Economics of Soviet Planning PDF Author: Abram Bergson
Publisher: Greenwood
ISBN:
Category : Business & Economics
Languages : en
Pages : 424

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The Political Economy of Soviet Socialism: the Formative Years, 1918-1928

The Political Economy of Soviet Socialism: the Formative Years, 1918-1928 PDF Author: Peter J. Boettke
Publisher: Springer Science & Business Media
ISBN: 9780792391005
Category : Business & Economics
Languages : en
Pages : 294

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Book Description
This book presents a narrative of one of the more interesting utopian experiments in comparative political and economic history: the first decade of the Soviet experience with socialism (1918-1928). Though historical and textual analysis, the book’s goal is to render this experience intelligible, to get at the meaning of the Soviet experience with socialism for comparative political economy today. The book examines the texts of Lenin, Bukharin, and other revolutionaries, as well as the interpretations of contemporary historians of the revolution and the writings of more recent interpreters of Soviet political and economic history. Arguing that the first three years of the Bolshevik regime (1918-1921) constitute an attempt to carry out the Marxian ideal of comprehensive central planning, and that the disastrous results, which all commentators agree occurred, were the inevitable outcome of this Marxian ideal coming into conflict with the economic reality of the coordination problem that all economic systems face, the book draws clear conclusions and elucidates the air of mystery that often surrounds the subject. Offering a radical challenge to contemporary comparative political economy at the level of high theory, applied research, and public policy, this book is appropriate for students and scholars interested in Marxism, economic history, political economy, and Austrian economics.

Building a Ruin

Building a Ruin PDF Author: Yakov Feygin
Publisher: Harvard University Press
ISBN: 0674296656
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 289

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Book Description
A masterful account of the global Cold War’s decisive influence on Soviet economic reform, and the national decay that followed. What brought down the Soviet Union? From some perspectives the answers seem obvious, even teleological—communism was simply destined to fail. When Yakov Feygin studied the question, he came to another conclusion: at least one crucial factor was a deep contradiction within the Soviet political economy brought about by the country’s attempt to transition from Stalinist mass mobilization to a consumer society. Building a Ruin explores what happened in the Soviet Union as institutions designed for warfighting capacity and maximum heavy industrial output were reimagined by a new breed of reformers focused on “peaceful socioeconomic competition.” From Khrushchev on, influential schools of Soviet planning measured Cold War success in the same terms as their Western rivals: productivity, growth, and the availability of abundant and varied consumer goods. The shift was both material and intellectual, with reformers taking a novel approach to economics. Instead of trumpeting their ideological bona fides and leveraging their connections with party leaders, the new economists stressed technical expertise. The result was a long and taxing struggle for the meaning of communism itself, as old-guard management cadres clashed with reformers over the future of central planning and the state’s relationship to the global economic order. Feygin argues that Soviet policymakers never resolved these tensions, leading to stagnation, instability, and eventually collapse. Yet the legacy of reform lingers, its factional dynamics haunting contemporary Russian politics.

Why Perestroika Failed

Why Perestroika Failed PDF Author: Peter J. Boettke
Publisher: Psychology Press
ISBN: 0415085144
Category : Business & Economics
Languages : en
Pages : 199

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Book Description
Gorbachev's reforms brought high hopes in the West and empty shelves in the East. Why Perestroika Failed argues that successful reform is only possible on the basis of a sound understanding of market and political processes. Using an Austrian market process approach to analyse the economics of the Soviet system, and a public choice one to sound understanding of market and political address the political dimension, Boettke argues that Gorbachev's reforms were always destined to fail. In part perestroika failed because it was never really implemented. But nonetheless, even if all the major proposals and decrees had been scrupulously adhered to, they would not have produced the structural changes necessary to revive the former Soviet economy. Knowing why perestroika failed is crucially important as the former Soviet republics and East and Central Europe try and chart a new course.