Russia: From Workers' State to State Capitalism

by Anthony Arnove, Tony Cliff, Ahmed Shawki

To millions throughout the world, the Russian workers' state offered new hope. People everywhere turned from the grim alternatives of a declining capitalism—unemployment, poverty, the threat of new wars—to place their hopes in the government that the soviets, councils of working people, put into power in Russia.

Genres: Russia, History, Politics, Nonfiction, Soviet History

174 pages, Paperback

First published December 1, 2003

Reviews

[Mr. · Rating 3 out of 5]

An excellent compendium of essays chronicling the history of the Soviet Union from the earliest months of the Bolshevik Revolution under Lenin to the totalitarian system of Stalin. The most important contributor to this collection is Tony Cliff who coined the term 'State Capitalism,' which states that the Soviet Union under Stalin was not a workers' state, nor was it a degenerated workers' state as Trotsky would later describe it. Rather it was State Capitalist in that the Red Bureaucracy formed a distinctly separate class from the proletariat. Chris Harman also elaborates on the failure of the revolution, arguing that it was not an inherent outcome of the project but that external imperialist pressures and internal crises caused the collapse of socialism. Harman writes: "By 1927 little remained of the proletarian democracy of 1917. But this could hardly be blamed on those who took power in October. For during a long and bitter struggle against counter-revolution and foreign invasion the working class that had made the revolution was itself decimated. Cut off from its sources of raw materials, industry ground to a prolonged halt" (39). This is an excellent book detailing the complex transitions of the Soviet Union from the period of its inception all the way to its final collapse in 1990. However, some of the writing overlaps between essays and there a number of typos which need correcting.

[Juan Pablo · Rating 3 out of 5]

Update - In the intervening years, I’ve learned Trotsky was right.

Disclaimer: I have not yet read the appendices which are displayed as chapters of the book when you flip through the pages. One is about a speech by Trotsky 15 years after the Russian Revolution recounting the major factors. I’ve read his history of the Russian Revolution & it is thorough. The other is an appraisal of sorts after the fall of Stalinism & I’m looking for a more thorough understanding of Stalinism before I get to that. I will revisit the appendices soon but I don’t feel like they change the impact of the main chapters of this book.

A short read about the immediate aftermath of the Russian Revolution & the makeup of government after the Russian Civil War. Both are important to understanding not only what happened but also clarifying the facts & deflecting much of the misinformation about the revolution itself, the aftermath & what kind of government & economy that was in place under Stalin. It explains what happened to the workers & how those that became part of the bureaucracy were able to do so in their place. The dynamics of the economy are clarified to show how it was neither a degenerated workers state or socialist in any way shape or form.

A good book to help supplement information learned elsewhere.

[John NM · Rating 3 out of 5]

Some interesting writing on theory of state capitalism, transition from worker's State to stalinism aided by the destruction of mobilized/educated party in the civil war. But kind of repetitive and squishy at times as well.

[Alex Clermont · Rating 5 out of 5]

A collection of comprehensive essays that dissect the objective, as well as subjective reasons for the fall of Socialist Russia as well as the rise of Stalin's Russia complete with its liquidation or true socialist revolutionaries, its massive brutality, and its worker repression.

[Kevin Lewis · Rating 3 out of 5]

An interesting account of the Russian Revolution, Civil War, and the bastardization of the Soviet Union. Unsurprisingly Leninist, there is still promise here, and it reminds us of what some of the most important parts of the only even moderately successful Socialist Revolution were.

[James · Rating 5 out of 5]

A view of Soviet history and economic development from a Trotskyite perspective.