[PEN-L:29998] new Wolff/Resnick book

[Michael Perelman <michael@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

Class Theory and History:
Capitalism and Communism in the USSR

Stephen A. Resnick and Richard D. Wolff

Class Theory and History takes an ambitious and ground-breaking look at 
the entire history of the Soviet Union and presents a new kind of 
analysis of the history of the USSR: examining its birth, evolution, and 
death in class terms. Utilizing the class analytics they have developed 
over the last three decades, Resnick and Wolff formulate the most fully 
developed economic theory of communism now available, and use that 
theory to answer the question: did communism ever exist in the USSR and 
if so, where, why and for how long? Their initial, and controversial, 
conclusion: Soviet industry never established a communist class 
structure. This conclusion then leads to the hypothesis that the 
twentieth century’s defining struggle was not between communism in the 
USSR and capitalism in the United States, but rather between their 
respective state and private capitalisms. Combining class theory and 
Soviet history, the book yields key lessons for the future of private 
capitalism, state capitalism and communism.

“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 Debate Among 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: Explorations in 
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 Another Europe: A Class Analysis of 
European Economic Integration

Table of Contents:

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

Published by ROUTLEDGE
HB ISBN: 0-415-93317-X $ 85.00 [Can. $128.00]
PB ISBN: 0-415-93318-8 $ 24.95 [Can. $37.95]
To order online:
in US/Canada: www.routledge-ny.com
elsewhere: www.routledge.com or via email at book.orders@xxxxxxxxxxx

Or call toll free (credit cards accepted):
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Michael Perelman
Economics Department
California State University
Chico, CA 95929

Tel. 530-898-5321
E-Mail michael@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx