ABSTRACT
Most analysis of Soviet society concentrates on its peculiar political features, either its totalitarian or its socialist character, and surprisingly few writers have tried to interpret the USSR as a developing society. 1 One exception is Marcuse's classic study Soviet Marxism which in many places recognizes that the Soviet regime ensures 'total mobilization of the individuals for the requirements of competitive total industrialization' (1958: 259). This relative lack of emphasis in the west in considering the Soviet Union as a model of development stems from two sources. First there is the west European Marxist tradition of regarding 'socialism' as a qualitatively superior social and moral system to capitalism, and this is also the primary concern of Marcuse. But Marxism as interpreted by Lenin, and particularly by his followers in the USSR who have articulated the ideology of Leninism, is very much concerned with the role of development in societies that are economically at the pre-capitalist stage. Second, and perhaps more important, is the view that Russia in 1917 was far ahead of societies that are now regarded as underdeveloped or undeveloped. As Rostow (i960: 95) has put it, 'the Russian take-off was under way by the 1890s . . .'. Also, Russia has a long and deep European tradition, which distinguishes it from many other countries of the Third World. While these objections must be given a prominent place when evaluating Soviet experience they do not detract from the fact that Russia in 1917 was one of the most backward countries in Europe, having a predominantly rural, agricultural, and illiterate peasant population. Since the Revolution, one of the most significant features of the evolution of the USSR has been planned economic and social development.
