The Collapse Of State Socialism

Author : Bartolomiej Kaminski
Publisher : Princeton University Press
Page : 279 pages
File Size : 42,9 Mb
Release : 2014-07-14
Category : Political Science
ISBN : 9781400862016

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The Collapse of State Socialism by Bartolomiej Kaminski Pdf

Does the abrupt collapse of communist regimes in Eastern Europe arise only from errors in implementing the policy of state socialism, leaving the concept itself still a potentially valid one? Bartlomiej Kaminski argues to the contrary: state socialism is a fundamentally defective idea that was well carried out, enabling it to exist until its accumulated shortcomings made its survival extremely difficult. How did the flawed state-socialist system endure for so long? Why is it failing now? In answering these questions, Kaminski, who is both an economist and a political analyst, proposes a general theory and then applies it to the case of Poland. Contending that the breakdown of state socialism results from symbiosis of the state and the economy, the book describes how communist governments searched for tools that would replace the market mechanism and the rule of law. Doomed in advance by the absence of autonomy and competition, this search generated new crises by undermining the state's capacity to suppress individual interests and to direct the economy. Originally published in 1991. The Princeton Legacy Library uses the latest print-on-demand technology to again make available previously out-of-print books from the distinguished backlist of Princeton University Press. These editions preserve the original texts of these important books while presenting them in durable paperback and hardcover editions. The goal of the Princeton Legacy Library is to vastly increase access to the rich scholarly heritage found in the thousands of books published by Princeton University Press since its founding in 1905.

Author : David Lane
Publisher : Routledge
Page : 399 pages
File Size : 55,9 Mb
Release : 2013-11-20
Category : Social Science
ISBN : 9781135008819

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The Capitalist Transformation of State Socialism by David Lane Pdf

David Lane outlines succinctly yet comprehensively the development and transformation of state socialism. While focussing on Russia and the countries of Eastern Europe, he also engages in a discussion of the Chinese path. In response to the changing social structure and external demands, he outlines different scenarios of reform. He contends that European state socialism did not collapse but was consciously dismantled. He brings out the West’s decisive support of the reform process and Gorbachev’s significant role in tipping the balance of political forces in favour of an emergent ascendant class. In the post-socialist period, he details developments in the economy and politics. He distinguishes different political and economic trajectories of countries of the former USSR, the New Member States of the European Union, and China; and he notes the attempts to promote further change through ‘coloured’ revolutions. The book provides a detailed account not only of the unequal impact of transformation on social inequality which has given rise to a privileged business and political class, but also how far the changes have fulfilled the promise of democracy promotion, wealth creation and human development. Finally, in the context of globalisation, the author considers possible future political and economic developments for Russia and China. Throughout the author, a leading expert in the field, brings to bear his deep knowledge of socialist countries, draws on his research on the former Soviet Union, and visits to nearly all the former state socialist countries, including China.

Author : Salvatore Engel-Di Mauro
Publisher : Pluto Press (UK)
Page : 256 pages
File Size : 42,7 Mb
Release : 2021-07-20
Category : Electronic
ISBN : 0745340407

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Socialism, Socialist States and Environment by Salvatore Engel-Di Mauro Pdf

Reclaims the contentious legacy of state socialism in order to build an ecosocialist future

Author : Roger Keeran,Thomas Kenny
Publisher : iUniverse
Page : 340 pages
File Size : 49,5 Mb
Release : 2010-10-20
Category : History
ISBN : 9781450241724

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Socialism Betrayed by Roger Keeran,Thomas Kenny Pdf

"A fresh multi-faceted look at the overthrow of the Soviet State, the dismemberment of the Soviet Union, and the campaign to introduce capitalism from above. Roger Keeran and Thomas Kenny have given us a clear and powerful Marxist analysis of the momentous events which most directly shaped world politics today, the destruction of the USSR, the 'Superpower' of socialism." -Norman Markowitz, author of The Rise and Fall of the People's Century "I have not read anything else with such detailed and intimate knowledge of what took place. This manuscript is the most important contribution I have read." -Phillip Bonosky, author of Afghanistan-Washington's Secret War "A well-researched work containing a great deal of useful historical information. Everyone will benefit greatly from the mass of historical data and the thought-provoking arguments contained in the book." -Bahman Azad, author of Heroic Struggle Bitter Defeat: Factors Contributing to the Dismantling of the Socialist State in the USSR

Author : David Lane
Publisher : Polity
Page : 248 pages
File Size : 43,8 Mb
Release : 1996-12-16
Category : Political Science
ISBN : 074560742X

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The Rise and Fall of State Socialism by David Lane Pdf

In this major new work, David Lane provides a wide-ranging re-evaluation of socialism as an ideology and a political movement. He addresses the nature of the socialist tradition and puts into perspective the 'socialist project' inaugurated by the Bolshevik Revolution of 1917. He also examines the rise of Marxist-Leninist states, arguing that Marxism-Leninism became a doctrine of development with a practical political appeal to economically backward states. The first part of the book outlines the 'World of the Comrades' characteristic of the world communist movement. Here, developments in Eastern Europe, the USSR and China are compared. The major achievements of state socialism are outlined. But so too are its deficiencies, which led to disenchantment and reform. Part II, 'Denouement', addresses the tensions of state socialism in the context of world capitalism. The internal and external sources of change leading to collapse - the rise of the intelligentsia, economic decline, ideological decay and international pressures are analysed and evaluated. The reforming strategies adopted in Eastern Europe, the USSR and China are compared and discussed. Theories of state socialism are examined, both long-term causes and precipitants of change are considered and, to explain collapse, the author emphasizes the conflict between the 'political' and 'acquisition' classes. This book, by one of the leading authorities in the field, provides a clear and comprehensive account of the achievements and deficiencies of state socialism and the reasons why it failed to establish itself as a viable alternative to capitalism. It will be essential reading for courses on industrial societies, development, socialist theory and Marxism, social stratification and social change, as well as on those focusing on post-communism.

Author : Gregory Andrusz,Michael Harloe,Ivan Szelenyi
Publisher : John Wiley & Sons
Page : 363 pages
File Size : 41,5 Mb
Release : 2011-08-10
Category : Social Science
ISBN : 9781444399158

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Cities After Socialism by Gregory Andrusz,Michael Harloe,Ivan Szelenyi Pdf

Cities After Socialism is the first substantial and authoritative analysis of the role of cities in the transition to capitalism that is occurring in the former communist states of Easter Europe and the Soviet Union. It will be of equal value to urban specialists and to those who have a more general interest in the most dramatic socio-political event of the contemporary era - the collapse of state socialism. Written by an international group of leading experts in the field, Cities after socialism asks and answers some crucial questions about the nature of the emergent post-socialist urban system and the conflicts and inequalities which are being generated by the processes of change now occurring.

Author : John Higley,György Lengyel
Publisher : Rowman & Littlefield
Page : 268 pages
File Size : 50,8 Mb
Release : 2000
Category : Political Science
ISBN : 0847698971

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Elites After State Socialism by John Higley,György Lengyel Pdf

This distinctive book presents valuable new research on the political and economic elites that have emerged in Central and Eastern Europe since the demise of state socialism. Integrating theoretically informed analysis with fresh empirical data, the contributors significantly enhance our understanding of the evolution and interplay of elites in the post-communist period. Leading experts explore the elite circulations, differentiations, and competitions that now underpin-- but in some countries also still inhibit--democratic stability and economic growth. A provocative concluding chapter assesses the century-long confrontation between elite theory and Marxism and where they stand today, after state socialismOs collapse.

Author : Graeme J. Gill
Publisher : Cambridge University Press
Page : 274 pages
File Size : 41,6 Mb
Release : 1994-10-13
Category : History
ISBN : 0521469430

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The Collapse of a Single-Party System by Graeme J. Gill Pdf

This 1994 book traces the disintegration of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union from 1985 to December 1991.

Author : David Lane
Publisher : Routledge
Page : 231 pages
File Size : 49,5 Mb
Release : 2017-09-08
Category : Political Science
ISBN : 9781351297301

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Elites and Classes in the Transformation of State Socialism by David Lane Pdf

The year 2011 marks the twentieth anniversary of the end of the Soviet Union. This may be an appropriate time to evaluate the adoption by previously state socialist societies of other economic and political models. The transition has sometimes been described in positive terms, as a movement to free societies with open markets and democratic elections. Others have argued that the transition has created weak, poverty-stricken states with undeveloped civil societies ruled by unresponsive political elites. Which is the more accurate assessment?David Lane examines a few of the theoretical approaches that help explain the trajectory of change from socialism to capitalism. He focuses on two main approaches in this volume - elite theories and social class. Theories dwelling on the role of elites regard the transformation from socialism to capitalism as a type of system transfer in which elites craft democratic and market institutions into the space left by state socialism. Lane contrasts this interpretation with class-based theories, which consider transformation in terms of revolution, and explain why such theories have not been considered the best way of framing the transition in the post-socialist states.While recognizing that elites can play important roles and have the capacity to transform societies, Lane contends that elite theories alone are inadequate to explain a system change that brings free markets. In contrast, he proposes a class approach in which two groups characterize state socialism: an administrative class and an acquisition class.

Author : Jan Kubik
Publisher : Penn State Press
Page : 341 pages
File Size : 46,7 Mb
Release : 2010-11-01
Category : Business & Economics
ISBN : 9780271042138

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Power of Symbols Against the Symbols of Power by Jan Kubik Pdf

Author : D. Lane
Publisher : Springer
Page : 322 pages
File Size : 54,6 Mb
Release : 2007-09-12
Category : Political Science
ISBN : 9780230591028

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The Transformation of State Socialism by D. Lane Pdf

This book considers aspects of transformation of former state socialist countries: social and economic outcomes; forces in the transformation process; problems of consolidation of the new regimes;and other scenarios. It also looks at alternative types of society that might replace state socialism, particularly state capitalism and market socialism.

Author : Jochen Tholen,David Lane,Gyorgy Lengyel
Publisher : ibidem-Verlag / ibidem Press
Page : 352 pages
File Size : 41,5 Mb
Release : 2012-02-24
Category : Political Science
ISBN : 9783838257549

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Restructuring of the Economic Elites after State Socialism by Jochen Tholen,David Lane,Gyorgy Lengyel Pdf

The collapse of the former socialist states has led to the transformation of their political, economic and social systems as well as a major change in international orientations. In this context, new economic and political elites of the former state socialist societies have emerged. How they have emerged from state socialism is a major component of this book which has two major themes. First, we consider the recruitment patterns of the new elites, among others the extent to which the new leaderships have been reconstituted from the former cadres of state socialism. Second we outline the consequences of transformation on the institutions, particularly the formation of markets and privatisation in the context of the dynamic of the enlargement of the European Union and the entry of the new states into the world system.This collection of papes is based mostly on two conferences out of six serial conferences under the general responsibility of David Lane, Cambridge University. The first conference was held in Budapest on 4-5 September 2004 at Corvinus University of Budapest (Institute of Sociology and Social Policy, Centre for Empirical Social Research) and organized by György Lengyel, the second on 13-14 May 2005 at University of Bremen (Institute of Sociology/Institute Labour and Economy) led by Jochen Tholen.

Author : Gale Stokes
Publisher : Oxford University Press
Page : 542 pages
File Size : 54,6 Mb
Release : 1993-10-07
Category : Political Science
ISBN : 9780199879199

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The Walls Came Tumbling Down by Gale Stokes Pdf

Gale Stokes' The Walls Came Tumbling Down has been one of the standard interpretations of the East European revolutions of 1989 for many years. It offers a sweeping yet vivid narrative of the two decades of developments that led from the Prague Spring of 1968 to the collapse of communism in 1989. Highlights of that narrative include, among other things, discussions of Solidarity and civil society in Poland, Charter 77 and the Velvet Revolution in Czechoslovakia, and the bizarre regime of Romania's Nikolae Ceausescu and his violent downfall. In this second edition, now appropriately subtitled Collapse and Rebirth in Eastern Europe, Stokes not only has revised these portions of the book in the light of recent scholarship, but has added three new chapters covering the post-communist period, including analyses of the unification of Germany and the collapse of the Soviet Union, narratives of the admission of many of the countries of the region to the European Union, and discussion of the unfortunate outcomes of the Wars of Yugoslav Succession in the Western Balkans.

Author : Joshua Muravchik
Publisher : Encounter Books
Page : 438 pages
File Size : 40,5 Mb
Release : 2003
Category : History
ISBN : 9781893554788

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Heaven on Earth by Joshua Muravchik Pdf

"The search for the Promised Land took socialists in diverse directions: revolution, communes and kibbutzim, social democracy, communism, fascism, Third Worldism. But none of these paths led to the prophesied utopia. Nowhere did socialists succeed in creating societies of easy abundance or in midwifing the birth of a "New Man," as their theory promised. Some socialist governments abandoned their grandiose goals and satisfied themselves with making slight modifications to capitalism, while others plowed ahead doggedly, often inducing staggering human catastrophes. Then, after two hundred years of wishful thinking and fitful governance, socialism suddenly imploded in the 1990s in a fin du siecle drama of falling walls, collapsing regimes and frantic revisions of doctrine."--BOOK JACKET.

Author : David Lane
Publisher : Rowman & Littlefield
Page : 262 pages
File Size : 48,9 Mb
Release : 2002
Category : History
ISBN : 0742517934

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The Legacy of State Socialism and the Future of Transformation by David Lane Pdf

Taking stock of the first decade of the transformation in the former Soviet bloc, this timely book explores the legacies of state socialism and attempts by once-communist countries to move toward a democratic, market-oriented system. Leading international scholars consider the ways traditions interact with other factors--both domestic and foreign--to influence the course of social, political, and economic change. With its blend of theory and case studies and its clear narrative, this book will be a valuable text for students of transition, Russian politics, and the transformation of Eastern Europe. Visit our website for sample chapters!