Alienation and the Soviet Economy: The Collapse of the Socialist Era

by Paul Craig Roberts

The first edition of this seminal book in 1971 pointed out the fatal defects of Marxist theory that would lead to the collapse of the Soviet economy. In this revised edition, Paul Craig Roberts examines how reality triumphed over Marxist theory and the implications for the future of Russia and eastern Europe. In 1971, Roberts created a firestorm among professional Sovietologists by proclaiming that the economies of the USSR and its East Bloc allies were doomed because their "planned" economies were, in reality, anything but planned. Expanding on his original ideas, Roberts demonstrates in this book the fatal shortcomings of Marxist economies, ranging from misallocation of resources to ersatz capitalistic concepts grafted onto a system that calls for production without regard to profit. Roberts argues that the economies of the nations emerging from the USSR's collapse must grasp the profound truths in this book if they are to become viable.

Genres: History, Politics, Economics

Hardcover

First published January 1, 1990

Reviews

[Drtaxsacto · Rating 3 out of 5]

Roberts is a great economist - this is not one of his best books. It attempts to examine why the Soviet economy did not work. Roberts goes through a series of proofs about poly centric economic systems to demonstrate that the basic assumptions of Marxist theory were bound to fail. Well, DUH.

I kept coming back to Hayek’s seminal essay, “the Uses of Knowledge in Society” which postulated that centralized systems are inherently unable to achieve the results that markets do. Of course, markets are influenced by things like regulatory frameworks and tax systems - and at least in theory Marxist systems could include more accommodation for market indicators. But the reality is they don’t

[Aki Ranin · Rating 3 out of 5]

Worth reading if you’re really interested in the failings of soviet implementation of central planning. Avoid if not.