U.S.S.R. in the 1930s

Paper Summary:

In this paper, it is argued that, although the goals of Marxist Communism were accomplished, the resulting society in the 1930s was not what Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels envisioned. The writer of this article discusses that although the Soviet Union did accomplish all the goals outlined in the Manifesto--abolishment of private property and laws of inheritance, state owned transportation, a national bank, etc., the result was not the classless society that Marx and Engels pictured, where all workers shared equally the fruits of their labor. Further, the writer points out that nor were communist working conditions better than bourgeoisie workers. The writer concludes that what the people received was empty rhetoric about dignity and equality, neither of which actually materialized during the 1930s. The writer maintains that communism, as a way to organize society, was there, but the rewards were not.

From the Paper:

"The question is whether, after the Revolution of 1917 in Russia, true Marxist Communism was established there. Fifteen to twenty-two years would have given the revolutionaries the time required to set up their system. In this paper, it is argued that although the goals of Marxist Communism were accomplished, the resulting society in the 1930s was not what Marx and Engels envisioned."

Sample of Sources Used:

• Marx, K. and Engels, F. (1848). Manifesto of the Communist Party. Full text on line accessed 5/5/06: http://www.anu.edu.au/polsci/marx/classics/manifesto.html.
• Scott, J. (1942). Behind the Urals: An American worker in Russia's city of steel. Cambridge: Houghton Mifflin.

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