ABSTRACT
The idea of overcoming the alienation of labor is an integral part of every communist party program. The Soviet Union has undertaken two broad attempts on quite different levels to attain this goal. The first was linked to the liquidation of private property. The second attempt to eliminate restrictive working conditions was made in the post-Stalin period. Soviet workers enjoy certain advantages over their Western counterparts, most notably their stronger position in labor markets. This is because widening practices have led to labor shortages, which in turn have strengthened the bargaining power of Soviet workers. Although the interests of Soviet workers are hardly represented by official trade unions, labor shortages improve the bargaining position of Soviet workers. The bargaining position that Soviet workers have come to possess and defend has given them more power than was originally intended by the authorities.
