ABSTRACT

First published in 1989, Ideology and Rationality in the Soviet Model assumes that since the October Revolution the development of the Soviet Union has essentially been a process of trial and error. Economic rationality has been sacrificed to political expedients, and the cultural sphere has been put to use as a legitimating and rationalizing device. This book analyses the internal logic of this process from the 1917 Bolshevik Revolution to Gorbachev’s ‘revolution from above’, including coverage of the Stalin, Khrushchev and Brezhnev eras. The book focuses on the structural determinants of the Soviet Model, thus seeking to reveal the specific rationalities that characterizes ‘Soviet man’. Its conclusion casts serious doubt on the likelihood of new policies defeating seven decades of Bolshevik rule and social indoctrination. It will be of interest to students of economics, political science and history.

part one|28 pages

Introduction

chapter Chapter one|26 pages

Setting the stage

part two|97 pages

Foundations of the Soviet model

chapter Chapter two|25 pages

Searching for the economics of early Soviet planning

chapter Chapter three|30 pages

Formation of the Stalinist political system

chapter Chapter four|22 pages

Chapter four The Bolshevik order and Russian tradition

chapter Chapter five|17 pages

Summary: political forces

part three|106 pages

Attempts at Change

chapter Chapter six|27 pages

The failure of intensification

chapter Chapter seven|23 pages

Chapter seven The Khrushchev experience

chapter Chapter nine|20 pages

Summary: the role of ideology

part four|110 pages

The Precarious Victory of Stability

chapter Chapter ten|30 pages

Stagnation and the reforms that never were

chapter Chapter eleven|30 pages

The politics of stagnation

chapter Chapter twelve|27 pages

Return to Russia

chapter Chapter thirteen|20 pages

Summary: rationality and Soviet man

part five|40 pages

A legacy for Gorbachev

chapter Chapter fourteen|38 pages

Opening Pandora's box