State Socialism Research Articles

The Broken Human–Object Continuum: The Technological Future and Socialist Contradictions in Rhapsody of the Ming Tombs Reservoir (1958)

Abstract The third section of Rhapsody of the Ming Tombs Reservoir (Shisanling shuiku changxiangqu 十三陵水库畅想曲, 1958), the first film in Mao-era China to include elements of science fiction, envisions a technologically advanced future in the year 1978. While seemingly aligned with the rapid industrialization goal of the Great Leap Forward, the film’s techno-fantasy attracted blistering criticism. Focusing on the overlooked historical debate that followed the release of the film, this article argues that criticism regarding the visualization of a technological future reveals how seemingly legitimate imaginations of a communist future reflect internal contradictions within the socialist present. Reading the film and the debate it sparked within the context of technological development in the late 1950s, this article identifies one locus of criticism: the human–object relationship. During the construction of the reservoir, the film shows a harmonious human–object relationship, but the futuristic part of the film depicts that relationship as profoundly alienated. I argue that this discontinuity does not betray ignorance of or an intentional departure from socialist ideology; rather, it reflects ideological contradictions between intellectual and manual labor, egalitarianism and class difference, industrialization processes and revolutionary agendas. In its rhapsodic depiction of advanced devices that consolidate the division of knowledge, the film unintentionally lays bare a fundamental conflict that was undermining the socialist system in the real world.

Socialism's legacy: the impact of political socialization on citizens’ conceptions of democracy

ABSTRACT Political culture literature asserts that congruence between the existing democratic system and citizens’ views and expectations of democracy is crucial for democratic stability. Consequently, citizens’ conceptions of democracy not only influence political attitudes or vote choice, but also the endurance of democracy. For the German case, research has shown that differences in political socialization in East and West have caused differences in what conceptions of democracy citizens hold, suggesting that attitudes of young generations socialized in re-unified Germany are converging. However, persistent disparities between East and West and a surge in support for the right-wing populist AfD, especially in East Germany, raise the questions of how sustainable political socialization effects are, and how a populist conception of democracy might be related to political socialization. Using ESS 10 data, the article tests cohort effects on a liberal, a social democratic, and a populist understanding of democracy in Germany. The results show that cohorts socialized in a socialist system are more committed to a socialist, but also to a populist conception of democracy, while attitudes of young people are indeed converging.

Green New Deal: Exploring the Path of Promoting Sustainable Development by Environmental Governance

The new development concept put forward by the Fifth Plenary Session of the 18th CPC Central Committee-innovative, coordinated, green, open and shared development concept, reflects CPC's deepening understanding of the law of economic and social development, greatly enriches the Marxist development concept and innovates the theoretical system of Socialism with Chinese characteristics' political economy. Green development is a brand-new development concept that integrates ecological civilization and beautiful China construction into all aspects and the whole process of economic, political, cultural and social construction. Under the guidance of the "four comprehensive" strategic layout, we should bravely face the difficulties and problems faced by China's sustainable development, follow the "five in one" overall layout, establish the "green+" strategy, fully integrate the "green+" strategy into the whole process and all-round development of the national economy and society, and practice the new development concept.

Jazz Press in Serbia from 1953 to 1965

The aim of the paper was to introduce the specialized press oriented towards jazz music and its practitioners that was published from 1953 to 1965 on the territory of the Republic of Serbia. The marked period was chosen for consideration since it represents the most fruitful stage in the development of the press of a specific thematic profile, but also because of the significant changes in the entire Yugoslav society. These changes, as it was possible to show, influenced the complex processes that shaped the press of the time, as well as the attitude towards this musical genre and its practitioners. The processes in question include, first of all: certain internal political movements that consistently modeled the cultural policy of the time, within which jazz attempted to obtain a favorable position; integration of the former socialist state into polarized international currents that implied the use of jazz as a means of affirming the foreign policy orientation of Yugoslav society; and the creation of the operational power of artists for self-organization and the acquisition of certain labor and social rights within the Association of Jazz Musicians. The association was founded in 1953 in Belgrade with the aim of advocating for the rights of contemporary musicians, while at the same time initiating the publication of the first newspaper Jazz: Journal of Popular and Jazz Music (Jazz. List za pitanja zabavne i džez muzike). Under this name, the journal was published from 1953 to 1954, and during the publication period from 1957 to 1958 it changed its name to Bulletin of the Association of Jazz Musicians (Bilten Udruženja Jazz muzičara). After that, in Novi Sad, in 1962, Rhythm – Yugoslav Review of Jazz and Popular Music (Ritam – Jugoslovenska revija za džez i zabavnu muziku) began to be publish by NIP Dnevnik, and later changed its name to Rhythm – Yugoslav Review of Popular Music (Ritam – Jugoslovenska revija za zabavnu muziku), under which it continued to be published until it ceased publication in 1965.

In the Service of the Eastern Bloc: Czechoslovak Intelligence and the Cyprus Conflict 1974–1989

ABSTRACT Even after the division of the island in 1974, the ‘Cyprus Issue’ remained a significant determinant in the relations between Greece and Turkey. In the context of the ongoing Cold War, the Eastern Bloc sought to exploit this situation, aiming to undermine the cohesion of NATO’s southeastern wing. The primary objective of this study is to assess how one of the socialist states, Czechoslovakia, attempted to influence the Cyprus conflict between 1974 and 1989 through its foreign intelligence services. The study illustrates this through the example of the Czechoslovak residency in Nicosia, showcasing Czechoslovakia’s intelligence methods in recruiting foreign collaborators, acquiring information, and conducting intelligence operations in one of the world’s most geopolitically exposed regions.

World War II and Socialist Integration: In Search of the Theoretical Foundations for Building the Socialist Bloc (1940–64)

Abstract The article presents the development of ideas on coordination between countries with socialist economic systems during World War II and in its immediate aftermath (1940–64). It studies the theoretical models of Hoselitz and the debates on the possibilities of interaction between socialist states after the war, as well as the first attempts to develop integration within the framework of the CMEA, or the Council for Mutual Economic Assistance, in practice. The lack of a clear theory made these processes difficult. Yugoslav economists considered nonequivalent exchange within the Marxist paradigm and attempts to create a monetary zone of the ruble encountered difficulties from the outset. Monetary reforms in socialist countries showed the need to adapt to the world (capitalist) market.

Development of the theory of the socialist state in political publications and legal documents of the stalin period of soviet history: problems and contraditions

The article is devoted to an extended analysis of the most important texts of the Stalin era, in which the theory of the socialist state was presented. Based on historical and political analysis, the author traces and reconstructs the history of the development of Soviet political and legal thought of the Stalin period of Soviet history towards the creation of a well-founded and structured theory of the socialist state. This work was complicated by serious problems that arose due to serious contradictions between the theory they were creating and the most important Marxist principles, as well as with the main postulates of the Leninist doctrine of the dictatorship of the proletariat. The author comes to the conclusion that these reasons ultimately led to the situation that the theory of the socialist state created from the early 1930s to the early 1950s did not achieve internal structure and consistency. The Soviet theory of the state did not resolve its internal contradictions, of which the most important was the dualism of dictatorship and democracy. Thus, the Soviet theory of the socialist state of the Stalin era did not achieve internal harmony and logic.

Jiang Qing, the Iconic Anti-icon: Visual Dissection of Female Political Power in Post-Mao People's Republic of China

This article examines how, in the years following the end of the Cultural Revolution (1966–76), Jiang Qing 江青 (1914–91) became a negative icon of a liberated woman in high office in the People’s Republic of China (PRC). During the Cultural Revolution, Jiang Qing transformed herself into a model female political leader. After her arrest in 1976, however, political caricatures systematically deconstructed her curated image by transforming her into the antithesis of the ideal powerful woman in a socialist society. Since a model liberated female politician was not yet available, Jiang Qing served as an “iconic anti-iconic” of women in politics under state socialism. Acknowledging the importance of Jiang Qing as a historical figure in Maoist China, this article analyzes how post–Cultural Revolution caricatures of her provide us with an understanding of the Chinese Communist Party’s anxieties about women in power, and it raises questions about the absence of an iconic woman-leader in the PRC’ s political visual culture despite years of campaigning to achieve women’s liberation.

A comparative analysis on how much individuals are left behind in the former state socialist countries of the European Union

This paper examines the extent to which individuals from the former state socialist countries of the EU’s Central and Eastern European (CEE) countries have been left behind compared to the rest of EU individuals from Western European (WE) countries and across countries within the CEE bloc. To this end, a fuzzy approach is applied to a multidimensional setting made up of income, material deprivation, and work intensity to measure the ‘Leaving no one behind’ (LNOB) principle of the 2030 Sustainable Development Agenda. A certain process of convergence is found between both blocs of countries over the period 2007–2019 due to a decrease in the level individuals were left behind in the CEE countries, as well as an increase in the level individuals were left behind in the WE countries in the years following the 2007–2008 financial crisis. Significant cross-country disparities in the degree individuals lag behind are also revealed among the CEE countries related to the different models of post-socialist capitalism established in these countries and their subsequent development after joining the EU.

Utilizing Marxist-Leninist Viewpoints to Construct the Vietnamese People's Army in the Present Era

The formation of the military is a historical and social occurrence that possesses significant class attributes. According to the Marxist-Leninist texts, the armed forces are considered as a tool of organized violence controlled by the ruling class. They are trained, taught, and utilized to fulfill the purposes and ideals of the ruling class. Following the October Revolution, the establishment of the socialist state gave rise to a new kind of military known as the socialist army or the army of the working class. This army possessed inherent distinctions from prior armed formations, since it operated in alignment with the objectives of the proletariat and the socialist state. In accordance with Marxist-Leninist ideas, the construction of the socialist army must encompass all aspects of politics, ideology, organization, discipline, weapons, technological equipment, and science. This complete approach is necessary to safeguard the revolutionary accomplishments and the socialist rule. The directives outlined by the 13th National Congress of the Communist Party of Vietnam for developing a "streamlined, strong, and modern" army demonstrate the Party's ongoing adherence to Marxist-Leninist principles in establishing the Vietnamese People's Army at present. This study examines the essential elements and original aspects of applying these rules, which contribute to the protection of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam.

The ambiguities of intellectual dissent in late socialism: the case of Bulgaria

ABSTRACT The old totalitarian paradigm 1 – the model still commonly deployed across Central and Eastern Europe and beyond to describe and explain state socialism – painted an image of socialist regimes as autocratic and all-powerful systems of total control imposed on a paralyzed mass of people, where only heroic individuals resisted. The dominant interpretations of intellectual dissidence correspondingly still often overlook internal inconsistencies, tensions, and pluralism which characterize resistance in late socialism. In this contribution, we focus on intellectual work at the University of Sofia, Bulgaria, in the late 1970s and 1980s to trace some of the ways in which the totalitarian narrative and its key binary dissidents-system fails to capture the complexities of political and intellectual life in late state socialism. We show that a peculiar type of anti-totalitarianism – characterized more by pluralism and internal tensions – could be ascribed correctly to critical social science during the period, but rather than as a critique of state socialism, it should be understood as a critique of the alienating aspects of industrial modernity and should be contextualized in the nascent consumer-oriented transformation of actually existing socialism after the shift from heavy to light industries and the processes of destalinization after the 1960s.

The Spanish Communist Exiles and Consentful Contention in State Socialist Czechoslovakia

This study focuses on the issue of the Spanish Communist exile in state socialist Czechoslovakia. It analyses the everyday resistance of the heterodox Spanish political emigrant José Valledor, which was carried out in the form of consentful contention – a tactic, through which a subordinate actor contests the government’s decisions whilst performing the role of a dutiful citizen. Valledor was able, with his petitions to the state organs while appealing to the regime’s own legitimating value system, to threaten the Czechoslovak authorities with the loss of the regime’s international prestige.

Júlia Hajdu (1925–1987) – Career of a woman operetta composer

AbstractThe object of this presentation is Júlia Hajdu (1925–1987), the first and only female Hungarian operetta composer. Although there is no abundance of female composers in either international or Hungarian music literature, most of the few were canonically mistreated, despite their creations being worthy of research. The author of choice, Júlia Hajdu, had a rather rich artistic career during which she excelled in various musical genres, such as the composition of dance songs, operettas, revues, dance suites, and incidental music. Besides composing, she was also an outstanding pianist. At the Zeneakadémia (Liszt Ferenc Academy of Music), her master teachers were Zoltán Kodály (1882–1967) and György Ránki (1907–1992) – the latter, too, being a composer of operettas. Hajdu studied folk music from Kodály and jazz orchestration from Ránki. Hajdu's name was soon mentioned next to the best-known creators of popular genres by both her contemporaries and the critics of the age. Among others, she worked on the popular music shows of Magyar Televízió (Hungarian Television) and was employed as Hanna Honthy's piano accompanist. Hajdu recorded hundreds of dance songs, revues, and dance suites, as well as fourteen operettas, including those for radio and television broadcasts. Her career is to be explored within the cultural, political, and civilizational contexts of state socialism, thus understanding her work as not only another oeuvre of an operetta composer, but also as a representation of the artistic sentiment of a whole era. During her active years, she had to make compromises which she later interpreted as assertions of herself as a female artist in a male-dominated cultural milieu. After recognizing various narrative patterns in her creations, I aim to discuss Hajdu's career along two of the most prevalent and recurring issues: the “female composer as a sensation” narrative, and the “significance of the master teacher” narrative.

The Myth of Gender Equality? Older Women’s Narratives on Sexuality Under State Socialism

The Myth of Gender Equality? Older Women’s Narratives on Sexuality Under State Socialism

Profit compression, time compression, and emotional exhaustion: the platformization of Taobao and its constraining effects on Chinese ‘original design’ women’s e-shops

ABSTRACT This study examines how Taobao, the dominant Chinese e-business platform, regulates the production, operation, and sales models of its e-shops, and the response to this regulation in the women’s original-design apparel industry. Drawing on ethnographic research with Shanghai-based Taobao original-design e-shops, this study shows that Taobao has normalized the ‘wanghong model’. This business model, which prioritizes internet celebrity and traffic generation through frequent online shopping festival promotions, tends to enhance the platform’s traffic rather than the e-shops’ sales or interests. Moreover, Taobao’s ‘consumer-first’ philosophy, responding to the socialist state’s left-leaning calls and competition from other platforms, places significant demands on practitioners’ time, making it challenging for the e-shops to manage the increase in returns along with sales. Taobao also requires practitioners to perform a large amount of emotional labor to provide customer service. Overall, a detailed analysis of Taobao’s platformization process complicates the simplistic understanding of China’s apparel industry transitioning from state-driven to market-oriented models. Instead, it reveals how the platform-mediated ‘market’ has become more diversified and stratified by various sub-platforms, affordances and business norms. Furthermore, it empirically shows how the axis of state-platform power has encroached upon the time, emotions, and energy of small businesses without enhancing their profitability.

School maturity and the quest for normalcy: how parental complaints shaped expertise and state policies in socialist Hungary and East Germany, 1960s-1980s

ABSTRACT After World War II, socialist states developed a new schooling system aimed at building an egalitarian society. While there is a solid body of research discussing the relationship between the intent and effect of the egalitarian design of socialist school systems, the importance of school maturity assessments for the socialist project has received only minor attention. This article discusses how the introduction of school maturity assessments developed by experts in medicine, psychology, and pedagogy in 1960s Hungary and East Germany contributed to the visibility of children who were deemed immature. It shows that both socialist states developed institutional solutions beyond the standard school system for tackling the problem of school immaturity in children; these solutions, in turn, evoked different reactions from parents. As the article discusses, parents used various avenues to oppose the official expert assessments with which they disagreed. In both countries, parents increasingly voiced their opinions in complaint letters addressed to the state in a quest to overcome what they perceived as a severe threat to their children’s ‘normal’ development. By tracing parental bottom-up initiatives, the article investigates how parental agency ultimately shaped state policies and expertise despite the asymmetrical power relations that were present in these authoritarian societies. To show the interplay of parental agency, experts, and the state, we employ a combination of two methodological approaches, the sociology of expertise and the concept of Eigensinn, for understanding the spaces of negotiation and the role expertise plays in it. This article thereby sheds light on parental agency and its impact on expertise and state policies concerning school maturity in two socialist states that offered very different institutional answers to the problem; bureaucratic approaches towards complaint letters also varied significantly.

The Practice of Common Prosperity with Chinese Characteristics: Institutional Guarantees, Intellectual Impetus and Scientific Theories

ABSTRACT Under the guidance of the CPC, the practice of common prosperity with Chinese characteristics is being advanced while Marxism and the socialist state power are being upheld and the socialist system with Chinese Characteristics is being safeguarded. Rooted in the monumental mission to eliminate poverty and construct a moderately prosperous society in all respects, this endeavor is driven by the intellectual impetus of poverty alleviation and common prosperity, and is steered by Xi Jinping Thought on Socialism with Chinese Characteristics for a New Era. Among the facets of common prosperity with Chinese characteristics, the national governance system, including especially the national economic governance system, stands as the institutional guarantee affirming its practice. Providing the intellectual impetus is the ethos of common prosperity with Chinese characteristics, an inseparable component of the ideological legacy passed down from the founding principles of the CPC. As the work of achieving common prosperity with Chinese characteristics goes forward, its theoretical basis is bound to become more prominent and to evolve further, shaped by practice. It is precisely the combination of the national governance system, intellectual impetus and scientific theory that ensures the steady and far-reaching advance of common prosperity with Chinese characteristics.

Institutional Analysis of China’s Historic Success in Eradicating Absolute Poverty: A Perspective of Political Economy

ABSTRACT China’s eradication of absolute poverty represents a major contribution to world development, a contribution that could not have been achieved without applying a strategy of targeted poverty alleviation. Implementing this strategy has in turn depended fundamentally on the functioning of the system of socialism with Chinese characteristics. First, the system has been oriented towards comprehensively addressing and systematically solving the problem of absolute poverty through unifying short-term relief with long-term empowerment. Second, the logic underlying the system construction has involved a coupling and interaction between the government and the market. The system of mobilizing resources nationwide for poverty alleviation has featured a “trinity” in which the central government has provided an overarching guide while paired assistance has occurred between developed and less developed areas, and while local governments have played a dynamic role. This involves having subjective and endogenous forces from poverty alleviation to poverty eradication, providing comprehensive assistance in fields from systemic change to intervention at the micro level, and enabling integrated operations in areas from targeting to policy implementation and empowerment. Third, the effectiveness of the system is reflected in the high quality, long-term effectiveness and endogenous motivation that have been features of China’s effort to overcome poverty.

The Logic of Common Prosperity in China

The notion of common prosperity in China is deeply rooted in its historical and cultural traditions and supported by a unique social system logic. As a social ideal, it reflects the enduring intellectual aspirations of the Chinese nation. Deep feelings for the family and country and universal kinship shape the Chinese spiritual worldview, emphasizing a strong sense of community and interconnectedness. As a fundamental principle, it ensures that the essence of the socialist system, defined by labor, is firmly implemented and practically realized in the context of socialism with Chinese characteristics. As a practical endeavor, it harmonizes with historical trends and proactive development, integrating the advanced nature of the political party with scientific policy strategies, thereby clarifying the roadmap for common prosperity. As a Chinese approach, it creates a genuine community amidst diversity and differentiation, fostering a scientific understanding of prosperity in the course of development and progress, and offering a national model for building new forms of human advancement during modernization. China’s historical efforts in promoting common prosperity not only expand the contemporary understanding of “common” in a philosophical sense but also elevate the notion of “prosperity” to new heights in a civilizational context.

A Study on the Sinicization of The Communist Manifesto from the Perspective of Cross-cultural Communication

The Communist Manifesto represents Marxism and matters as a source of Communism. Since the first Chinese translation of The Communist Manifesto was published in 1920, there have been 8 translations according to research. This paper expounds changes in the translation of The Communist Manifesto from the perspective of cross-cultural communication, applying an interdisciplinary research method, and combining cross-cultural communication, translation studies and relevant subjects. This paper shows that the translation of The Communist Manifesto gradually indicates Chinese characteristics with the development of times and introduces three means of international communication of Marxism with Chinese characteristics, which is conducive to promoting translation, broadening the field of Marxism works on translations, strengthening ideal and belief of socialism with Chinese characteristics, constructing discourse system of socialism with Chinese characteristics, and enlightening significance for the international communication of Chinese Marxism.