This book analyses and compares the unofficial economies and their control in ten marxist states: the USSR, Poland, Hungary, Romania, Yugoslavia, Cuba, Nicaragua, China, Angola and Tanzania. It provides a vivid, mosaic-like panorama of the hidden economies in these countries. The book breaks with the view that the unofficial economy is simply a by-product of the official economy. It shows an unfolding interplay between these two economies, which moulds and limits both the dynamics and the direction of the process of change. In her final essay, Maria Los develops a theoretical model linking second economies with the process of marxist economic development. The key stages of this process are identified as: (1) The stage of radical transformation; (2) The monopolisation period; (3) The reformist phase; and (4) Post- reformist decadence. The volume throws a new light on the prospects and problems of the reformist movements which have swept the Soviet Union, China and several other marxist states in the 1980s.

To understand the dramatic collapse of the socialist order and the current turmoil in the formerly communist world, this comprehensive work examines the most important common properties of all socialist societies. JNBnos Kornai brings a life-long study of the problems of the socialist system to his explanation of why inherent attributes of socialism inevitably produced in-efficiency. In his past work he has focused on the economic sphere, maintaining consistently that the weak economic performance of socialist countries resulted from the system itself, not from the personalities of top leaders or mistakes made by leading organizations and planners. This book synthesizes themes from his earlier investigations, while broadening the discussion to include the role of the political power structure and of communist ideology. Kornai distinguishes between two types, or historical phases, of socialism. The "classical socialism" of Stalin, Mao, and their followers is totalitarian and brutally repressive, but its components fit together and make up a coherent edifice. Associated with names like Tito, KNBdar, Deng-Xiaoping, and Gorbachev, "reform socialism" relaxes repression, but brings about a sharpening of inner contradictions and the eventual dissolution of the system. Kornai examines the classical system in the first half of the book, and moves on to explore the complex process of reform in the second half. The Socialist System is addressed to economists in the first place, but also to political scientists, sociologists, and historians. In addition, it will appeal to policymakers, business analysts, and government officials who need to understand either formerly or presently communist countries.

Two centuries after his birth, Karl Marx is read almost solely through the lens of Marxism, his works examined for how they fit into the doctrine that was developed from them after his death. With Marx’s Dream, Tom Rockmore offers a much-needed alternative view, distinguishing rigorously between Marx and Marxism. Rockmore breaks with the Marxist view of Marx in three key ways. First, he shows that the concern with the relation of theory to practice—reflected in Marx’s famous claim that philosophers only interpret the world, while the point is to change it—arose as early as Socrates, and has been central to philosophy in its best moments. Second, he seeks to free Marx from his unsolicited Marxist embrace in order to consider his theory on its own merits. And, crucially, Rockmore relies on the normal standards of philosophical debate, without the special pleading to which Marxist accounts too often resort. Marx’s failures as a thinker, Rockmore shows, lie less in his diagnosis of industrial capitalism’s problems than in the suggested remedies, which are often unsound. ? Only a philosopher of Rockmore’s stature could tackle a project this substantial, and the results are remarkable: a fresh Marx, unencumbered by doctrine and full of insights that remain salient today.

Analyzes Japanese contributions to Marxist theory Marxist economic thought has had a long and distinguished history in Japan, dating back to the First World War. When interest in Marxist theory was virtually nonexistent in the United States, rival schools of thought in Japan emerged, and brilliant debates took place on Marx’s Capital and on capitalism as it was developing in Japan. Forty years ago, Makoto Itoh’s Value and Crisis began to chronicle these Japanese contributions to Marxist theory, discussing in particular views on Marx’s theories of value and crisis, and problems of Marx’s theory of market value. Now, in a second edition of his book, Itoh deepens his study Marx’s theories of value and crisis, as an essential reference point from which to analyze the multiple crises that have arisen during the past four decades of neoliberalism. One contribution of the original Value and Crisis was to bridge Japan and the world in the field of Marxian political economy. Itoh’s second edition demonstrates an even wider-ranging familiarity with major schools of Marxist thought, summarizing and assessing viewpoints of such theorists as Hilferding, Bauer, Kautsky, Bukharin, Luxemburg, Grossman, Sweezy, the Japanese Marxist Kozo Uno, together with the relevant parts of Capital and a section on the 1930’s Great Depression. Given today’s current emergencies of world capitalism and socialism, says Itoh, we need to work together to resolve new global problems, articulating new issues of Marx’s theories of value and crisis. The promise of Marx’s theories has not waned. If anything—given the failure of Soviet-style socialism and the catastrophe of neoliberalism—it grows daily.

This book analyses and compares the unofficial economies and their control in ten marxist states: the USSR, Poland, Hungary, Romania, Yugoslavia, Cuba, Nicaragua, China, Angola and Tanzania. It provides a vivid, mosaic-like panorama of the hidden economies in these countries. The book breaks with the view that the unofficial economy is simply a by-product of the official economy. It shows an unfolding interplay between these two economies, which moulds and limits both the dynamics and the direction of the process of change. In her final essay, Maria Los develops a theoretical model linking second economies with the process of marxist economic development. The key stages of this process are identified as: (1) The stage of radical transformation; (2) The monopolisation period; (3) The reformist phase; and (4) Post- reformist decadence. The volume throws a new light on the prospects and problems of the reformist movements which have swept the Soviet Union, China and several other marxist states in the 1980s.

A new translation from the original Russian manuscript with a new afterword by the translator and a timeline of Stalin's life and works. In one of his last works written in 1952, Stalin addresses various economic challenges facing the Soviet Union in its pursuit of socialism. He discusses topics ranging from commodity production under socialism to the role of the law of value, offering insights and solutions based on Marxist-Leninist theory.

Why socialism has failed to play a significant role in the United States - the most developed capitalist industrial society and hence, ostensibly, fertile ground for socialism - has been a critical question of American history and political development. This study surveys the various explanations for this phenomenon of American political exceptionalism.

The collapse of communism was one of the most defining moments of the twentieth century. This Very Short Introduction examines the history behind the political, economic, and social structures of communism as an ideology.

Eugen Von Böhm-Bawerk, economist of the Austrian school, wrote this incisive critique of Marxist economics amid rising public support for socialism, communism and state-controlled markets in Europe. Published in 1896, this work criticizes Marxist theory from two angles: firstly, that the notion of value which Marx puts forward contradict his own ideas. The author asserts that the link between the price of producing goods and the value produced by labor are not consistently dealt with in Marx's works. This inconsistency in assigning value to economic production leads onto the second critique: Supply and demand is a theory whereby an equilibrium between goods supplied to a market and goods demanded by consumers in said market is established, with changes in the quantity or price of a good being in reaction to demand. Böhm-Bawerk discusses how Marx underestimates this law, and how his lack of appreciation for an economy which flexibly meets the shifting demands of consumers undermines his notions of price and value. From the perspective of a free market capitalist, Marxist theory is inadequate and insufficient as a system of economics.