''A Critique of Soviet Economics'' is a work of Marxist–Leninist

political economy Political economy is the study of how economic systems (e.g. markets and national economies) and political systems (e.g. law, institutions, government) are linked. Widely studied phenomena within the discipline are systems such as labour ...

written by

Mao Zedong Mao Zedong pronounced ; also romanised traditionally as Mao Tse-tung. (26 December 1893 – 9 September 1976), also known as Chairman Mao, was a Chinese communist revolutionary who was the founder of the People's Republic of China (PRC) ...

. It includes a critique of two Soviet works: '' Economic Problems of Socialism in the USSR,'' a short 1951 work by Soviet leader

Joseph Stalin Joseph Vissarionovich Stalin (born Ioseb Besarionis dze Jughashvili; – 5 March 1953) was a Georgian revolutionary and Soviet political leader who led the Soviet Union from 1924 until his death in 1953. He held power as General Secretar ...

; and ''Political Economy: A Textbook,'' an official publication of Institute of Economics of the

Academy of Sciences of the Soviet Union The Academy of Sciences of the Soviet Union was the highest scientific institution of the Soviet Union from 1925 to 1991, uniting the country's leading scientists, subordinated directly to the Council of Ministers of the Soviet Union (until 1946 ...

published in 1957. First published in 1967, the book is regarded as an early polemic of the

Sino-Soviet split The Sino-Soviet split was the breaking of political relations between the China, People's Republic of China and the Soviet Union caused by Doctrine, doctrinal divergences that arose from their different interpretations and practical applications ...

which emerged in the late 1950s and the 1960s.

History

From 1958 to 1960, Mao Zedong organized a reading group, reading ''Political Economy: A Textbook'', leaving notes and talks. The conversation was recorded by

Deng Liqun Deng Liqun (November 27, 1915 – February 10, 2015) was a Chinese politician and theorist who was one of the leading figures of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) during the 1980s, most well known for his involvement with the party's propaganda ...

. The content was first published in 1967, which was included in the '' Long Live Mao Zedong Thought''. by which time the

had fully erupted. The book was reissued in English translation in the name ''A Critique of Soviet Economics'' by the

Monthly Review Press The ''Monthly Review'', established in 1949, is an independent socialist magazine published monthly in New York City. The publication is the longest continuously published socialist magazine in the United States. History Establishment Following ...

in 1977. In 1995, Deng Liqun, after six systematic collations, made the ''Transcript of Talks on Reading the Political Economy: A Textbook of Soviet'', and in 1998, the State Historical Society of the People's Republic of China published ''Mao Zedong's Notes and Talks on Reading Socialist Political Economy'' ( zh, 毛泽东读社会主义政治经济学批注和谈话) under the name of study materials for state historical research, of which Deng Liqun's ''Transcript'' is the main part. In 2000, the State Historical Society published a short version of the book in two volumes.

Content

In ''A Critique of Soviet Economics,'' Chinese leader Mao criticizes the economic views of Soviet leader Joseph Stalin, arguing that the

Soviet Union The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, ...

collectivization of agriculture Collective farming and communal farming are various types of, "agricultural production in which multiple farmers run their holdings as a joint enterprise". There are two broad types of communal farms: agricultural cooperatives, in which member- ...

by means of state

expropriation Nationalization (nationalisation in British English) is the process of transforming privately-owned assets into public assets by bringing them under the public ownership of a national government or state. Nationalization usually refers to pri ...

represented a "rightist deviation" by substituting the action of the state for the grass-roots action of the peasant masses. Gilbert Rozman (1987). ''The Chinese Debate about Soviet Socialism, 1978-1985''. Princeton, New Jersey: Princeton University Press. p. 145. Mao additionally criticized Soviet economists for making the assumption that socialist industrialization was a necessary precondition for the collectivization of agriculture and consequently over-prioritizing the development

heavy industry Heavy industry is an industry that involves one or more characteristics such as large and heavy products; large and heavy equipment and facilities (such as heavy equipment, large machine tools, huge buildings and large-scale infrastructure); o ...

in an unbalanced way.Gilbert Rozman (1987). ''The Chinese Debate about Soviet Socialism, 1978-1985''. Princeton, New Jersey: Princeton University Press. p. 145–146. Mao also challenged the division between people's democracy and

Soviet democracy Soviet democracy, or council democracy, is a political system in which the rule of the population is exercised by directly elected '' soviets'' (Russian for "council"). The councils are directly responsible to their electors and bound by thei ...

History

Content

References

Further reading