Western Marxist Interpretation of the Soviet Union: Between Hostility and Neutrality

Abstract

Western Marxism and the Soviet Union: a Survey of Critical Theories and Debates since 19172 focuses on the Western Marxist interpretation of the Soviet Union in a historical context. Van der Linden categorized the various interpretations under four broad theoretical approaches. The theory of state capitalism insisted that the Soviet mode of production was a specific stage of capitalism. On the other hand, the Trotskyist theory of the degenerated workers’ state indicates that, even though the working class owned the means of production in the Soviet Union, it was deformed by the ascendancy and hegemony of bureaucracy. Nevertheless, this theory rejects the thesis that the Soviet bureaucracy was a coherent and self-perpetuated ruling class. The theory of the new mode of production with a consolidated ruling class generally characterized the Soviet society as a non-socialist and non-capitalist new mode of production, and bureaucracy formed a ruling class. This new ruling class was sui generis different from the previous ruling classes in the sense that it was not the possessor of the means of production. However, it expropriated the surplus value. The theory of the new mode of production without a consolidated ruling class, on the other hand, asserted that, instead of a new ruling class, the elite, which comprised a coalition of state managers, technical work force and bureaucrats, maintained hegemony over the Soviet working class. Moreover, van der Linden's book also coveres a long list of writers who do not belong to any theoretical approach but had significant repercussions for the development of these approaches to a certain degree. Covering a wide range of views and having a detailed historical analysis of various theoretical approaches, van der Linden's book is a major contribution to the forgotten debate about the Soviet Union. 1The author would like to thank to Seçil Kaya Bahçe, Benan Eres and Emel Memiş for their helpful comments and contribution. 2Marcel van der Linden, Western Marxism and the Soviet Union: A Survey of Critical Theories and Debates since 1917 (Leiden: Brill, 2007).