Socialism and Commodity Production

Paresh Chattopadhyay, State Doctorate in Economic Sciences (1964), University of Paris, has published many articles, as well as the book The Marxian Concept of Capital and the Soviet Experience (Praeger, 1994; translated into Japanese in 1999). He is Professor of Political Economy in the Faculty of Human Sciences, University of Quebec in Montreal.

“There are few things in the world as complicated as capitalism, and that has made it very easy for friends and foes of Marx alike to downplay or omit completely important parts of his analysis [...] Yet, the potential of capitalism to evolve into communism is scattered all over Marx's writings, early and late, and is an essential part of his thinking [...] Paresh Chattopadhyay is one of the few scholars who does justice to this dimension of Marxism, and he – and his latest work – deserve our closest attention and thanks. Highest marks!”—Bertell Ollman, NYU“This valuable book will surely contribute to both a revival of interest in Marx’s emancipatory ideas and the [...] impending process of revolutionary renewal.”—George Liodakis, Capital & Class

• Table of Contents Preface Prologue Twentieth-Century Socialism Socialism as Minority Rule Lenin's Role The Relevance of Marx A Caricature of Marx's Socialism 1 On Socialism: Association of Free Individuals (Pre)conditions of Socialism Associated Mode of Production Ownership Relation Exchange Relations Distribution/Allocation Labouring Individual under Socialism 2 Commodity Production From Commodity to Capital Paradoxes and Contradictions On the Value Form Commodity Circulation: Possibility of Crisis 3 Simple Commodity Production The Problem Discussion after Engels The Critics Criticisms Discussed Conclusion 4 Commodity Production and Socialism in Marx's Followers The First Followers: August Bebel and Karl Kautsky Marxians after Kautsky 5 On Socialist Accounting The Labour Process Point of Departure How to Proceed Labour Time: Neglected Aspects Labour Time and Non-labour Time Socialist Accounting Framework On Planning and the Unit of Calculation 6 Anarchist Communism Peter Kropotkin Carlo Cafiero Anarchism and Marx: The Relation7 Concerning Guild Socialism Introduction Guild Socialism as Democracy Distribution and Allocation in Guild Socialism Consumers and Producers Transformation of the Existing Society Ambiguities and Contradictions 8 On Market Socialism Origin of Market Socialism The Competitive Solution Criticisms Feasible Socialism Analytical Market Socialism Market Socialism Proper Market Socialism - &'Marxian' Market Socialism is Capitalism 9 The Problematic of a Non-capitalist Road to Socialism Capital's Positive Contribution The Controversy Controversy Continued Further Considerations EpilogueIllusion of the Epoch: Twentieth-Century Socialism Preliminaries Nature of Twentieth-Century Socialism The Party-State The Fundamental Question References Index