Selected Works of W.B. Bland, Volume 2: The Restoration of Capitalism in the Soviet Union

Description

Marxist-Leninists today may not fully grasp the shock caused by Khrushchev’s seizure of power within the Communist movement. After Stalin’s death in 1953, Khrushchev launched a sweeping attack on socialism in the USSR and internationally. Many Marxist-Leninists quickly recognized the danger and sought to analyze it. Most, however, followed Mao Zedong’s line that capitalism’s restoration in the USSR stemmed from Stalin’s alleged errors, particularly the so-called Cult of Personality and an overemphasis on heavy industry at the expense of light industry. Mao’s Western supporters further argued that Stalin had neglected the class struggle after 1936, claiming he prematurely declared socialism victorious.

In contrast, Bland’s Restoration of Capitalism in the USSR (1980) stood out for explaining concretely how capitalist restoration was carried out. Bland argued that the Cult of Personality had in fact been constructed by hidden enemies of socialism, including Khrushchev himself. He showed that Khrushchev, alongside Nikolai Voznesensky, had attempted to redirect the Soviet state economy toward capitalism even during Stalin’s lifetime, efforts that Stalin resisted. Bland also refuted claims that Stalin overemphasized heavy industry, demonstrating instead that Stalin followed Lenin’s strategic line.

This volume supplements Bland’s original work with additional materials from the 1980-1990 period. These include a more detailed account of the “Leningrad Affair” associated with Voznesensky, an analysis of Stalin’s final work, Economic Problems of Socialism in the USSR, and a critique of the revisionist economist Eugene Varga. The collection concludes with Bland’s 1998 postscript to the second edition, tracing the process of capitalist dismantling in the USSR through Gorbachev’s Perestroika (1987-91).