State Socialism
After Stalin
 The Logic of Post-Stalinism
 The Timeline
 The Command Economy
 The Politics of State Socialism
The Logic of Post-Stalinism
Stalinism was unviable
--Extreme degree of state control over society – hard to
maintain, permanent emergency rule
--War was no longer on the horizon; capitalism was
stabilizing: the challenges of peace and prosperity
--Communist elites needed more normal, stable regimes in
which they would be secure from challenges both from
above and from below
Changes were inevitable: they were in the interests both of
the rulers and of the ruled
BUT: Stalinist features at the foundation of communist power
--Bureaucracy reigns as the New Class; no interest in
sharing power
--One-party systems
--Control of information
--Mechanisms of repression (security services, the military)
From the death of Stalin to the collapse of
communism:
In each communist country: attempts to develop
viable political-economic systems which would:
--secure the dominance of communist elites,
and
--make state socialism attractive – or at least
acceptable - to the masses
Return to the past was impossible
Options for the future:
--National Stalinism (Albania, Romania, China)
--Reform socialism
--Liberal capitalism
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National Stalinism would simply prolong the agony.
Reform socialism required a strong commitment to
democracy from the ruling elites.
They needed to take big risks with democratization
But the fear of losing power prevented them from
taking such risks
Or, when some of them would venture risky
democratic strategies, Soviet hardliners would
intervene (Hungary, 1956, Moscow, 1964,
Czechoslovakia, 1968, Poland, 1981, Moscow,
1991)
Ultimately (in 1989-91), the elites opted for
capitalism
The Timeline
The Thaw: 1953-1964
The Conservative Era: 1964-1985
Reforms and Collapse: 1985-1991
1953-1964: THE THAW
 1953: Stalin’s death, first moves towards liberalization in
USSR and Eastern Europe
 1956:
The rise of Nikita Khrushchev
The 20th Congress of the Soviet Communist Party:
Khrushchev’s secret speech denounces Stalin
Upheaval in Poland
The Hungarian revolution and its suppression
 1957: Stalinists attempt to overthrow Khrushchev
 1961: Khrushchev renews his anti-Stalinist campaign; new
Party programme promises the beginning of full
communism within 20 years
 1962: The Cuban missile crisis. The Novocherkassk
massacre
 1964: Khrushchev is deposed by conservatives
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1964-1985: THE CONSERVATIVE ERA
 1964: Leonid Brezhnev becomes the head of the Soviet Communist
Party
 1965:
 Limited market reforms announced in USSR
 First public trials of dissidents
 1966: Hungary introduces New Economic Mechanism
 1968:
 Protests and repression in Poland
 The Prague Spring and its suppression
 1969: The Sino-Soviet military conflict
 1970: In Poland, worker protests lead to the fall of Gomulka
 1971-72: The start of détente between the USSR and the West
 1979: Détente is over; the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan
 1980-81: The rise of Polish Solidarity; martial law is imposed
 1982: Brezhnev’s death and the succession crisis
 1985: Mikhail Gorbachev becomes General Secretary
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1985-1991: REFORMS AND COLLAPSE
The Command Economy
Please see the following links:
PLANNED ECONOMY FACTS AND INFORMATION
Modern Corporation
The Politics of State Socialism
Basic methods of social control*
authority (the power of command)
exchange (the power of deal)
persuasion (the power of idea)
moral codes (the power of belief)
Each political-economic system relies on a specific
combination of these methods
Under state socialism, the power of command dwarfed all
other methods
The command economy and one-party rule reinforced each
other
Extreme centralization of economic and political power
Fear of exchange – the specter of capitalist restoration
Inefficiency and social discontent
*See Charles Lindblom, Politics and Markets, Basic Books, 1976
The Communist Party under state socialism
 The system’s core
 The principle of hierarchy (“democratic centralism”)
 The Party leadership controls all mechanisms of the state,
including economic management
 Assuring the mass base through Party membership
 Control of information (little or no media freedom, heavy use
of propaganda, control of the cultural sphere)
 The key role of security organs
Cannot be used against Party leadership
Use of force only under extreme circumstances
Manipulation of political processes
Surveillance, informer networks
Preventive measures against dissent
The Soviet society: new classes, new
expectations, new relations and structures
The ruling class (NOMENKLATURA)
Ambivalent social status: the question of ownership
 Does not need a dictator – WHY?
 Increasingly confident of its power and right to rule
 Big, diverse, interested in decentralization – WHY?
 Reformers, Stalinists, pragmatic conservatives
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A new society
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Increasingly urbanized
Rapidly growing educational levels
Class struggle is declared over
Raised in the spirit of democratic expectations
(even if within the limits of official ideology)
Demanding higher living standards
Women, youth, intellectuals: new social demands
Development of nationalist sentiments
Citizens losing fear of the state
The essence of the reform process
States and societies created by the communists
enter into a process of complex interactions:
--between the rulers and the ruled
--between different social groups
--between internal and external forces
Both conflicts and accomodation
Challenges to political leaders
Open-ended outcomes
Successes and failures
The main components of the reform process
– addressing the system’s flaws
 DECENTRALIZATION
 LIBERALIZATION
 MARKETIZATION
 DEMILITARIZATION
 OPENING TO THE WORLD
The outcome depended on many factors – both
internal and external
State socialism had to prove its viability under
conditions of peace
Decentralization
 Achieving rational distribution of power between
different levels of communist state structure
 Within the USSR:
More power to national republics
 Within the Soviet bloc:
Loosening of Soviet control over Eastern Europe
Limits:
Fear of loss of control
Requires liberalization
The dynamics of nationalism
Liberalization
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Reducing state domination over society
New society expects the state to be democratic –
serving the people (influence of ideology – both
communist and Western)
The international environment fosters those
expectations
No mass repressions; lesser role for security
organs
Relaxation of controls over cultural life
Development of pluralism within the ruling party
How far could communists go down this road?
Marketization
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Restoration of elements of market systems
Considerations of economic efficiency
Growing consumer demands
Interests of managers, entrepreneurs
Problems:
Does the revival of market forces make restoration
of capitalism inevitable?
What do the people want – capitalism or
socialism?
ALTERNATIVE MODEL – MARKET SOCIALISM
Demilitarization
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Reducing the burden of military expenditures
Dismantling the “battle order” (partial)
War is not inevitable
Counterfactors:
Power of the military-industrial complex
The international environment (competition with
the West, upheavals in the Third World)
Persistence of militarized thinking
Opening to the World
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Wider participation in the global economy
Peaceful coexistence with capitalism
Arms control and disarmament
Wider cultural and human contacts with foreign
countries
Counterfactors:
Moscow feared loss of control over Eastern Europe
Dangers of ideological “contamination”
International advocacy of human rights challenged
communist rulers