Class Theory and History

Stephen A. Resnick, Richard D. Wolff

"A very ambitious and interesting book on a very important topic." -- Howard Sherman, author of Reinventing Marxism"Using a version of Marx's theory of class to explain the rise and fall of the Soviet Union, and the Soviet Union as evidence for the validity of this theory, Resnick and Wolff succeed in providing us with an original and fascinating account of both. Whether one agrees or disagrees with their results, no future work on either of these important subjects will be able to ignore the sheer creative verve and intellectual rigor with which they lay out their arguments. Very highly recommended." -- Bertell Ollman, editor of Market Socialism: The DebateAmong Socialists"A stunning achievement! Resnick and Wolff have extended their path breaking work in Knowledge and Class to a full-fledged class analysis of the rise and fall of the Soviet Union. Building on the clearest analysis of class in the Marxian tradition, Resnick and Wolff provide a comprehensive analysis of the core contradictions in pre-Soviet Russia and the Soviet Union. This is a work that all those concerned with the Soviet experience, the nature of class, and the possibilities of fundamental social change will have to contend with." -- Victor D. Lippit, editor of Radical Political Economy: Explorationsin Alternative Economic Analysis"Class Theory and History both follows in the best Marxian tradition's footsteps and develops new important insights. Building upon a notion of class whose pivot is the production and distribution of surplus, the authors offer a stimulating and original interpretation of the USSR's birth, development, and fall. This is class analysis at its best, a work which deserves the widest circulation." -- Guglielmo Carchedi author of For AnotherEurope: A Class Analysis of European Economic Integration"Stephen Resnick and Richard Wolff, both economics professors, approach Soviet history on a highly theoretical level, analyzing the productive relations in Soviet society with sometimes mathematical (or, perhaps, pseudomathematical) precision...[A] strikingly original argument." -- Humanities and Social Sciences Online

• Introduction Part I. Communism 1.A General Class Theory 2.The Many Forms of Communism Part II.State Capitalism 3.A Class Theory of State Capitalism 4. Debates over State Capitalism Part III. The Rise and Fall of the USSR 5.Class Structures and Tensions Before 1917 6.Revolution, War Communism, and the Aftermath 7. revolution, Class, and the Soviet Household 8. The New Economic Policies of the 1920s 9.The Transformations of the 1930s 10.Class Contradictions and the Collapse References