The Economic Organization of War Communism 1918-1921

An assessment of the first Soviet economic system, comparing programmes with outsomes, and theory with practice.

This book examines the origins, development and reasons for change of the first Soviet economic system. Programmes are compared with outcomes and theory with practice in the fields of nationalization, workers'' control and management, money and planning, industrial organization and food procurement. The organization of military supply and industry is examined separately, to emphasize that the initial approach to economic organization was affected not only by external events, but also by ideology, class struggle and social pressures. The economic and social analysis, which lay behind policy-making, was often distorted by prejudice, and the economic system, which emerged was the result of efforts to replace market relations by administrative measures. Unexpected and unwanted outcomes induced some leaders to rethink initial policies, while others continued to adhere to rigid programmes, even after the conclusion of civil war.