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Economic History
A. INTRODUCTION
The events in October 25, 1917 in Petrograd produced as a result the emergence
of a new ideology, which from barely a century was seen as in direct opposition to the
current capitalist system. From the thesis of Marx and Engels to the European social
democrat trends or the new Asian model, socialism has proved to be an alternative to
traditional liberal policies. History shows that, with varying degrees of success, these
principles can be implemented as a form of economic and social organization but, to what
extent can socialism be considered in relation to the development of nations? The
purpose of the following lines is offered to contextualize socialist theories in the various
models that recent history has provided, with particular reference to the economic
policies undertaken by the USSR.
1. Concept of Socialism
Prior to the analysis of the most representative case of socialism in the history
of the twentieth century is necessary to establish a definition of the term. In his work
"Socialism: Utopian and Scientific", Friedrich Engels defines socialism as "the direct
product of the recognition, on the one hand, of the class antagonisms existing in the
society of today between proprietors and non-proprietors, between capitalists and
wage-workers; on the other hand, of the anarchy existing in production" 1. Under
socialism, the state owns the means of production and sets out interventionist policies
in social and economic matters. Karl Marx asserts in the Communist Manifesto that
"the history of all hitherto existing society is the history of class struggles"2, implying
that socialism is an intermediate stage in the achievement of a communist state whose
goal is the elimination of the class struggle and the abolition of private property to
favor a fairer, more equitable distribution of wealth. The definition of socialism has
changed in the course of recent history, but it essentially retains its main principles and
objectives.
2. Definitions of development
Development and progress of any society can be understood under two
perspectives: first, economic development refers to the ability of nations to create
wealth and manage their resources efficiently, and secondly, human development is
understood as the evolution of society in terms of health, living standards, life
expectancy, education and basic rights, and its extension to the whole society.
Quantitatively, economic development uses indicators such as GDP, inflation,
investment in technology or exports and imports. Meanwhile, human development
gets reflected in school enrollment rates and access to basic health and social services,
and in per capita GDP as a measure of living standards.
1
ENGELS,
F.
(1880):
Socialism:
Utopian
and
Scientific
2
MARX,
K.
(1848):
Manifest
der
Kommunistischen
Partei
1. The NEP