ABSTRACT

In Karl Marx's day, the issue of socialism was quite separate from the issue of underdevelopment. This chapter examines the improbable marriage in the real world between underdevelopment and socialism—or between underdevelopment and what has been termed state socialism. It addresses the question of the many revisions of the Stalinist approach to economic development. The chapter also examines critiques of the Stalinist model, the many reforms which were based on these critiques and the decision of late by many socialist states to scrap Stalinism and to opt for the capitalist approach to development. Clarity of purpose and policy, strong intra-party socialization and hierarchical control over cadres all worked in its favor. In contrast to the capitalist path, the socialist path would be more humane, more efficient and in some cases plausibly more resonant with national traditions. The real world of socialism provided ample evidence in support of the notion that the human costs of the Stalinist model were too high.