Meltdown: Inside the Soviet Economy

by Paul Craig Roberts, Karen LaFollette

This book describes the irrational life of Soviet producers, the monstrous deprivation of Soviet consumers, and the ideological origins of the Soviet economy that have resulted in a system unable to bear the weight of being a superpower. The authors spell out the challenges that Gorbachev and his successors face. The penultimate chapter deals with the privatization of the Soviet economy. In the last chapter they document the failure of Western experts and pundits to create a true picture of the Soviet system.

Genres: History

280 pages, ebook

First published September 1, 1990

Reviews

[Bob Diethrich]

Great details and sourced evidence of the sheer idiocy and incompetence of the Soviet Union, published just a year before the country ceased to exist. Makes great use of actual Soviet press stories, that were recently allowed under "glasnost" and "peristroika" by Gorbachev. Should be required reading for every US college socialist who thinks government can plan an economy.

[Chris · Rating 5 out of 5]

A great description of why central planning and socialism will never work. Central planning and collectivism failed miserably in the Soviet Union yet socialism continues to try to make a come back every few years. The book discusses the distinction of a socialist system all together.