Hillel Ticktin has been one of the most controversial figures in Soviet studies for 25 years. His assertions that the Soviet economy was hopelessly inefficient, that the ruble was a sham, and that the elite was desperate once sounded outrageous. Ticktin consistently argued that perestroika would fail. In his view the USSR was and remained inherently Stalinist. It might lurch back and forth between reformist and reactionary leadership factions but, the system could not evolve, nor could it be restructured. Ultimately, it could only disintegrate, and when it did, the workers would hold the balance. This collection of essays offers a thorough sample of his views.
Author(s): Hillel Ticktin
Publisher: M.E. Sharpe / Routledge
Year: 1992
Cover
Half Title
Title
Copyright
Dedication
Contents
Preface
1. Introduction: The Aims and Achievements of Gorbachev
2. Theory and Concept
Western Sovietology
The Concepts Used in This Work
3. The Nature of Social Control in the USSR
The Question of Ideology
Stalinism and Its Disintegration
Atomization
4. The Nonpolitical Politics of the Soviet Elite
Factions and the Emergence of Opposing Currents and Parties
The Ligachev–Yeltsin Rivalry
The Nature of the Soviet Elite and Its Factions
The Nature of the Party and Political Differences
The Secret Police
The Soviet Ruling Group
Characteristics of the Soviet Elite
The Soviet Elite in the Context of History
5. The Intelligentsia
The Political Economy of the Intelligentsia
The Debate on History and Rehabilitations
Legality and the Rule of Law
6. The Working Class
The Sale of Labor Power
The Labor Process and the Changes Demanded
The Question of Class
Reforms and the Process of Establishing Control over the Working Class
The Position of the Workers and Perestroika
The Nature of Actual and Potential Divisions of the Workers
The Necessity for Control Measures
New Measures Introduced to Control Workers
Economic Reforms and Their Effect on the Worker
The Necessary Failure of the Economic Reforms
7. The Nature of the Soviet Political Economy
Control over Labor in the Brezhnev Period
The Laws and Contradictions of the System
Growth and Disintegration
8. The Present Economic Crisis in the USSR
The Law of Value and Its Absence in the USSR
The Nature of the Contradiction within the Product
Consequences of the Defective Product
The Underlying Reasons for the Crisis
The Problem of Technology in Historical Perspective
The Contradictions between Departments One and Two
The Increasing Power of Labor and Its Effects
9. Perestroika and the Disintegration of the USSR
The Policy of Reorganization
The Pseudo-market Reforms
The Market, Prices, and Social Relations
The Ruble, Real Money, and a Genuine Market
Social Solutions
The Redirection of Foreign Policy
The Disintegration of the USSR
The Inevitable Failure of the Market Solution
Why the Market Solution Cannot Work
The Market Socialism Argument
10. Where Are We Going? The Nature of the Transitional Epoch
Index
About the Author
