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Socialism was a way to express the communist regimes in the 20th Century, born in the 19th Century lead by Karl Marx. Marxist ideologies created two kinds of movements: social democracy (Marx was right, a more equalitarian society could be implemented under a liberal democracy) and real socialism (communism applied by the government, not as an ideology).Real Socialism began in 1917It all began with Stalin. Lenin died in 1924, around 1928 Stalin had absolute power.
The Bolshevik Party had never expected to survive in isolation. Feb. 1917: those who succeeded were not communists, it was a wider group of people against the tsar, the war and the system.Oct. 1917: The Bolshevik party took power and control of the revolution. “war revolution” that had started in Russia and that would extend throughout Europe and the capitalist world. There were other communist revolutions in Hungary, Berlin (Germany was close to defeat when there was a revolution in the South) … however, only Russia succeeded.a single country: Russia. only industrial powers were able to win wars. objectives, State to a military and industrial power; 20s and 30s. second most powerful country country in which proletarian revolution had triumphed, the logical policy was to transform it from a backward into and advanced economy.
This strategy of quick industrialization focused in basic industries: steel industry, coal, chemicals, electricity… those sectors that created the necessary material for other industries, not goods for consumptions. They sacrificed consumption for the production of basic industries and infrastructure (railways, roads, electricity networks = starvation, ultra-rapid construction of the basic industries and infrastructure essential to a modern industrial society.
Five-Year Plan in 1928. It was proof of how the government was the one behind the growth plan. It was easier to achieve this from a central planned economy than a market economy. The government established the production target. Firms that were also State-owned had to follow these guides (in a market economy, Channelling investment into heavy industry and machinery production. This accelerated the capacity to build capital equipment and thereby pushed up the rate of investment.of demanding output targets to direct business operations. It was the stressing of all of those affected by industries, in order to achieve an almost impossible target.Agriculture was collectivized. This was anathema to the peasants. Collectivization resulted in a huge fall in farm output and led to famine in 1933.+kulacsMass education. Schooling was quickly made universal and compulsory.The Soviet system was designed to industrialise a very backward and underdeveloped country as rapidly as possible. In spite of being inefficient and wasteful, it achieved this objective. This was a model for countries lacking both private capital and a large body of private and profit-oriented industry. After WW2 many underdeveloped countries believed that this model could successfully be applied in their system (Poland, Romania, Bulgaria, …)xinaThe Egypt of Nasser and India are some examples..-.Yugoslavia Economic declineIn the first 15 years after WWIIKhrushchev sincerely believed that socialism would out-produce capitalism within a foreseeable future. This optimist view on the socialist system was on the Khrushchev era.Stalin died in 1953, meaning that some of the worst elements (persecutions, executions, etc.) were over, resulting in live improving for Russian citizens. it was demonstrated that socialist regimes were behind capitalist in technology in spite of their efforts and great investment.However, the Soviet system in the 1960s was unable to cope with the problems of economic growth and technical change in a more advanced industrial society.weaknesses of the Soviet model, extended to the Eastern countries under USSR control, was that they were unable to promote technological innovation from below. The Soviet Union could target some applications from above, there were good technicians and engineers that could be successful in very specific targets. However, from below, the firms, there were no innovations due to a lack of proper incentives. In the Soviet Union and central-planning economies, the heads of the firms had no incentive to change things since they had a fixed amount of goods to produce set by the Central Government and wanting to change the production quantity was a huge risk for the head of the firm. Firms wanted to reach the targets, but were afraid and made no efforts to improve. central-planned economy not = improve industrial / consumer taste adpatition / complex.+count andPoland, 70s, a of Solidarnosc). The head of military of power made a coup-d’état in order to stop this movement asking for a reform of the system.
In 1985, a young Gorbachev compete with the Western model. Economic: Perestroika (transformation). Trying to introduce market incentives in the communist system, increase effectiveness.Politic: Glasnost (transparency). Political democratisation of the system, political pluralism.– military x + techGorbachev believed that the system had to be more democratic USSR split up in 1991.The project was clearly a failure, it proved that the communist system was unable to reform itself: changes in the Soviet system would make it die, it wasn’t compatible with political freedom. The introduction of political pluralism produced a lot of discussions and disputes among political parties. When the market incentives were introduced, the system finally fell. The most aggressive version of capitalism got to Russia.