Relevant books to learn from? - Politics Forum.org | PoFo

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As either the transitional stage to communism or legitimate socio-economic ends in its own right.
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#14473208
Greets PoFo, long time no see!

I have compiled a list of the 58 or so books that I have gathered over the last 3 or 4 years that I have either read, looked through or about to read to understand better the problems that faced the socialist economies of the USSR and the Ostbloc across the stages of its development. What I would like to know is whether or not any of you have read any of the books I shall list here in this thread, or if there are any other works that deal with the economic strangeness that can arise from pursuing a socialist economy a la the WarPac states that any of you guys have read or come across in your time that are of use. The list is a cross-post from SE, but without such a preamble.

The reason I am doing this is twofold, I would like to improve my library of books that specifically look at the issues of "actually existing socialism", based on your suggestions, to gain a deeper understanding of the problems inherent within the particular economic, social and political model that was functional for so many years. Secondly, I would really like to push the point that one of the bigger problems facing socialists is many of us are seen to be totally oblivious to the problems that faced countries like the Soviet Union and those other states aligned with its particular model (of course, allowing for regional "styles" of socialism) of economic co-ordination, political management and social issues. I believe the latter point is of great importance, as there is a lot of information available to us and definitely parallels that can be drawn across the economic spectrum to at least see where the Soviet Union/other states went wrong - importantly, how we should not go wrong in the future. We should be unashamed in this attempt that should culminate in at least a workable manifesto that could be elected in a Parliamentary democracy.

Here goes:


Nove - "The Soviet Economic System", "An Economic History of the USSR", "Efficiency Criteria for Nationalised Industries", "Alec Nove on Economic Theory, Unpublished Works Vol 1 (of his posthumous canon)", "Soviet Planning: Essays in Honour of Naum Jasny", "Socialism, Economics and Development", "Political Economy and Soviet Socialism" and "The Economics of Feasible Socialism"

van Brabant - "Adjustment, Structural Change and Economic Efficiency: Aspects of Monetary Co-Operation in Eastern Europe" and "Socialist Economic Integration"

Connolly - "Beyond the Urals: Economic Developments in Soviet Asia" and "Siberia Today and Tomorrow: Study of Economic Problems and Developments"

Porkett - "Work, Employment and Unemployment in the Soviet Union"

Schapiro/Pochitnyl - "Change and Adaptation in Soviet and Eastern European Politics"

Freedman - "Soviet Policy Toward the Middle East since 1970"

Treml - "Studies in Soviet Input-Output Analysis" and "The Development of the Soviet Economy" (co-authored/edited together with Farrell)

Kuromiya - "Stalin's Industrial Revolution"

Childs - "The GDR: Moscow's Germany Ally"

Lin - "Developing Countries in a Turbulent World"

Hutchings - "The Soviet Budget"

Estrin - " Self-Management: Economic Theory and Yugoslav Practice"

Campbell - "Accounting in Soviet Planning and Management"

McAuley - "Women's Work and Wages in the Soviet Union"

Conklin - "An Evaluation of the Soviet Profit Reforms"

Lewis/Sternheimer - "Soviet Urban Management" (comparative between USA and USSR)

Osofsky - "Soviet Agricultural Policy"

Koehler - "Economic Integration in the Soviet Bloc"

Feiwel - "The Soviet Quest for Economic Efficiency" and "New Economic Patters in Czechoslovakia"

Zloch-Christy - "The Debt Problems of Eastern Europe"

Klinghoffer - "The Soviet Union and International Oil Policy"

Dininio - "The Political Economy of East German Privatisation"

Grannick - "Job Rights in the Soviet Union: Their Consequences"

Wiles - "The Predictions of Communist Economic Performance"

Schiavone - "The Institutions of Comecon"

Wallace/Clarke - "Comecon Trade and the West"

Hardt/McMillan - "Planned Economies: Facing the Challenges of the 1980s"

Holzmann - "Soviet Taxation"

Dyker - "The Process of Investment in the Soviet Union"

Zaleski - "Planning for Economic Growth in the Soviet Union 1918-32", "Stalinist Planning for Economic Growth 1933-53" and "Science Policy in the USSR"

Zwass - "Money, Banking and Credit in the Soviet Union and Eastern Europe"

Elliot - "The Soviet Energy Balance"

Braunthal - "Socialist Labour and Politics in Weimar Germany"

Schnitzer - "East and West Germany: A Comparative Economic Analysis"

Stephan - "Economic Transition in East Germany and Hungary"

Selucky - "Economic Reforms in Eastern Europe"

Fishman/Martin - "Estranged Twins" (Comparative synopsis of E and W German education)

Csaba - "Eastern Europe in the World Economy"

von Beyme Zimmermann - "Policymaking in the German Democratic Republic"

McAuley (there are two of them I am aware of) - "Marxism-Leninism in the German Democratic Republic" and "Economic Welfare in the Soviet Union"

Malle - "Economic Organisation of War Communism 1918-21"

Fowkes - "Communism in Germany under the Weimar Republic"

Fallanbuchl - "Economic Development in the Soviet Union and Eastern Europe (both vols)"

I can't remember/be bothered to get author/editor's name - "Power, Purpose and Collective Choice: Economic Strategy in Socialist States"

Ryavec - "Implementation of Soviet Economic Reforms"

(I have another book on the way by Hill - "Soviet Product Quality")
#14473262
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Yom Kippur and After
The Soviet Union and the Middle East Crisis
AUTHOR: Galia Golan
DATE PUBLISHED: June 2010

This 1977 book was undertaken with the purpose of determining the degree of Soviet involvement in the Middle East crisis, from the expulsion of the Soviet advisers from Egypt in 1972, through the planning stage of the war and the war itself, up to the disengagement agreements which in fact finally brought the war to a close. Dr Golan first investigates Soviet interests in the region, particularly in connection with the Arab–Israeli conflict, and the relationships of these regional interests - be they strategic, political, economic or ideological - to Soviet global interests. There follows a detailed study of Soviet policy towards the Middle East crisis as seen through Soviet relations with the Arab states and the Palestinians, Soviet propaganda to the Arab world, Soviet–American relations, Soviet domestic and international problems related to Middle East policy, and, more specifically, the Soviet attitude towards a settlement of the Arab–Israeli conflict.
http://www.cambridge.org/gb/academic/subjects/history/middle-east-history/yom-kippur-and-after-soviet-union-and-middle-east-crisis


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Soviet Policies in the Middle East
From World War Two to Gorbachev
AUTHOR: Galia Golan
DATE PUBLISHED: November 1990

This is a comprehensive study of Soviet policies in the Middle East. Concentrating on policy developments, Professor Golan analyses the major Soviet decisions and objectives from the end of World War II to the Gorbachev era. She pays particular attention to the wars and crises of recent years and the often problematic development of political relationships in the region. Professor Golan begins by demonstrating how, until the end of the Brezhnev period, Soviet policies towards the Middle East were principally influenced by the demands of superpower competition with the USA. This is followed by a series of broadly chronological case studies of the main Soviet alliances, such as Syria and South Yemen; and of Sadat's Egypt and Khomeni's Iran. This original and important book culminates in a study of Gorbachev's interests, initiatives, and 'new thinking' in relation to overall Soviet foreign policy objectives and the role of the Soviet Union in the region.
http://www.cambridge.org/gb/academic/subjects/politics-international-relations/russian-and-east-european-government-politics-and-policy/soviet-policies-in-middle-east-world-war-two-gorbachev


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Iron Curtain: The Crushing of Eastern Europe 1944-56
Paperback – 6 Jun 2013
by Anne Applebaum (Author)

At the end of the Second World War, the Soviet Union unexpectedly found itself in control of a huge swathe of territory in Eastern Europe. Stalin and his secret police set out to convert a dozen radically different countries to a completely new political and moral system: Communism. Anne Applebaum's landmark history of this brutal time shows how societies were ruthlessly eviscerated by Communist regimes, how opposition was destroyed and what life was like for ordinary people who had to choose whether to fight, to flee or to collaborate. A haunting reminder of how fragile freedom can be, Iron Curtain is an exceptional work of historical and moral reckoning.
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Iron-Curtain-Crushing-Eastern-1944-56/dp/014102187X


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China Learns from the Soviet Union, 1949-Present (The Harvard Cold War Studies Book Series) Paperback – June 23, 2011
by Hua-Yu Li (Author), Thomas P. Bernstein (Contributor)

It is well known that the Soviet Union strongly influenced China in the early 1950s, since China committed itself both to the Sino-Soviet alliance and to the Soviet model of building socialism. What is less well known is that Chinese proved receptive not only to the Soviet economic model but also to the emulation of the Soviet Union in realms such as those of ideology, education, science, and culture. In this book an international group of scholars examines China's acceptance and ultimate rejection of Soviet models and practices in economic, cultural, social, and other realms. The chapters vividly illustrate the wide-ranging and multi-dimensional nature of Soviet influence, which to this day continues to manifest itself in one critical aspect, namely in China's rejection of liberal political reform.
http://www.amazon.com/Learns-Soviet-1949-Present-Harvard-Studies/dp/0739142224/
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