General introduction

This book, developed from my PhD thesis, criticises the Soviet economy through the lens of Karl Marx’s critique of political economy. The USSR (Union of Soviet Socialist Republics, or simply Soviet Union) is often used to discredit Marx’s thought, so the book will contrast the two and uncover the nature of the Soviet mode of production. Those who oppose the emancipation of the working class point to the USSR as an example of socialism, which is why an analysis of the Soviet economy from a Marxist perspective is still relevant to political debates today. There are many critical Marxist theories of the Soviet Union, most notably theories of a degenerated workers’ state, bureaucratic collectivism, and state capitalism. I mostly agree with the latter but find that previous theories of Soviet capitalism are inadequate. My aim is to produce a better theory and in so doing weed out misunderstandings about Marx’s thought, helping to better understand capitalist society and thus also communist society.