Introduction

This chapter considers important differences in the culture, the level of economic development and the political processes of different state-socialist societies, the historical developments of these states share many common features. Political policy is decided within the Communist Party and is often accompanied by internal conflict - by purges and political violence; politics remain endemic to state-socialist society. Economically, with the exception of Eastern Germany and Czechoslovakia, all state-socialist countries were, relative to those of the advanced West, at a low level of economic development and they all pursued policies of rapid and extensive industrialisation. The interaction of the ruling Party seeking to further social change along Marxist-Leninist lines with the traditional economic and cultural institutions gives rise to variation in the structure and processes of these societies. Syndicalist socialism emphasises the devolution of power, limited state activity, and particularly workers' control. The chapter also presents an overview on the key concepts discussed in this book.