History of Economic Thought: A Critical Perspective [Paperback]

The new edition of this classroom classic retains the organizing theme of the original text, presenting the development of thought within the context of economic history. Economic ideas are framed in terms of the spheres of production and circulation, with a critical analysis of how past theorists presented their ideas. The Soviet Colossus is an introduction to 20th-century Soviet history within the context of Russian history as a whole. Kort begins by showing how and why the Tsars developed powerful centralised institutions that undermined the political, civil and economic freedoms of the Russian people. He then goes on to explain how the Bolsheviks' attempt to build socialism in a backward country produced the strong centralised bureaucracy that was characteristic of the Soviet Union. The post-Stalin years of half-way reforms are surveyed for new insights. In the concluding chapters Kort discusses Gorbachev's place in the continuum of Russian and Soviet history, and his role in unleashing the force that finally toppled the Soviet colossus.