why could no-one reform communism? the failure of marxism-leninism?
TRANSCRIPT
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Why could no-one reform Communism?
The failure of Marxism-Leninism?
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Objectives of Lesson
• Module trying to analyse transition to democracy
• Was communism as a political system driven by Marxism or Russian and Central European Traditions and social structures?
• How much did communism change?
• What will democratisation have to adapt to?
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Stalinism
• Collectivisation of agriculture
• centrally planned state owned economy
• coercion/terror
• single vanguard party
• policy by ideology
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Structures
Pa rty
Secreta ria t
G overnm ent
C ouncil o f Ministers
People
Presid ium , Suprem e Soviet
Politburo
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PRESIDIUM post-STALIN
• MALENKOV Ch. C. of M.• Beria Min Internal Affairs• Molotov Min For. Aff• Voroshilov H of S• Khrushchev Party Sec• Bulganin MoD• Kaganovich Dep CofM• 3 other ministers
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Cost benefit analysis of Stalin
• Strong sesnse of identity
• Education for all• social mobility• industrialisation• strong military• won WWII
• Deaths• Imprisonments• Intellectual stifling• Agricultural
bottleneck• Overcentralised• Consumers?• Ethnic minorities
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1957 PRESIDIUM
• KHRUSHCHEV
• 8 PARTY SEC.
• USSR P.M. and Dep. P.M.
• RUSSIA P.M.
• H o S
• KAZAKHSTAN
• CENTRAL CONTROL COMMISSION
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What was Khrushchev trying to do?
• Remove agricultural bottleneck
• machinery to farms; but mechanics left
• Normalise peasants as citizens
• invest; but at who’s expense?
• Foreign policy as bluff
• communism by 1980
• self-administration drive
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Interests/Lobbies
• Military
• Heavy industry [“steeleaters”]
• Republics
• Party machine [apparatchiki]
• East Europe
• China
• non-ruling parties
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Weak interests/lobbies
• Agriculture
• consumer/service industries
• intelligentsia
• diplomats
• broad party membership
• police?
• Navy pre-62
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1966 Politburo
• Brezhnev Gen Sec
• Kosygin PM
• Podgorny HoS
• 3 CC secs [inc Suslov]
• party control
• Ukraine
• Russia
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Attempts at reform
• Khrushchev 1957 sovnarkhozy• Kosygin 1966 “profitability”• Hungary 1956 revolt• Hungary post-56 New Econ Mechanism• Poland 1956 Gomulka• Poland 1970 Gierek and “Polski Fiat”• Czechoslovakia 1968• Poland and Solidarity
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Why couldn’t USSR let reform happen?
• Security concerns• competition with China• ideological legitimacy• economic interdependence -who gained more?
Manufactured goods for cheap energy.• Brezhnev doctrine• Stupidity
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Brezhnev crisis
• Stagnation• Gerontocracy• Corruption• Demography• Waste of foreign currency• Agricultural disaster• Overemployment• Irrational prices
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Why did Gorbachov fail?
• Tried to carry out polit reform before econ.
• Nationalities problem
• democratising factories irrelevant
• didn’t appoint cronies
• tried to reform from below, not above
• Too much glasnost, not enough perestroika
• couldn’t abolish party privilege
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Was communism reformable?
• China
• Yugoslavia
• Vietnam
• was it communism or Russia that was the problem
• Authoritarianism very successful in S.E.Asia
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What would reformed communism have looked like?
• Single party plus market economy
• “guided democracy” [prob. Gorby’s aim]
• Revisionist vision
• Eurocommunist vision
• if it’s multi-party can it be communist?
• Don’t confuse Stalinism with communism