💯 👉"Critics of socialism argue that it is a cop-out to say that the USSR was not socialist. But it seems clear that in practical terms, those running the system were trying to beat capitalism at its own game. They were not only imprisoned in a competitive logic but also bound by its limited horizons.

Of course, this does not tell us what the Soviet economic system was. To pose that question, as some did in the USSR, was to step outside the ruling order and to invite retribution. The job of the economists that Feygin discusses was to help the system work better.

Yet even some of those who were at the center of these “insider” debates could not help wondering exactly what the USSR was. Feygin in particular instances Yakov Kronrod, who spent four decades or more trying to think not only about reform but also about value relations and the question of alienation and exploitation in the Soviet system (David Mandel’s book on Konrod, Democracy, Plan, and Market, is not cited, however).

In the event, the USSR and the wider Soviet-led bloc collapsed, becoming the “ruin” of Feygin’s title. It failed to catch up with (let alone overtake) the West, and it failed to satisfy the aspirations of its own population. The idea of socialism from above, directed by a plan, has not really recovered. When we think, therefore, of going beyond capitalism, we must think about different ends as well as different means.

A bottom-up, participative system might well be messy in different ways, but it would have to engage people. In the USSR, Soviet workers were never the knowing agents of their own fate. They figured only as a constraint..." 👈💯

https://jacobin.com/2025/11/soviet-economic-reform-workers-feygin/

#SovietUnion #USSR #Socialism #Capitalism #StateCapitalism #EconomicDemocracy #Gorbatchev #Perestroika

"Professor Noam Chomsky explains how NATO has overstepped its bounds and engaged in empire building ever since the 1990s. After the Cold War's end, Russia agreed to allow Germany to enter NATO, and NATO promised not to "move one inch eastwards." Soon after, the United States started coercing former Soviet satellites to join the alliance. An early attempt was President Clinton inviting nations bordering Russia to enter NATO in 1997, despite numerous diplomats warning him that this would only provoke Russia to counteract. All subsequent administrations continued to break the Cold War-era pact; NATO continued to burgeon in the East. By 2022, international pressure on Ukraine to follow suit had piled up considerably. Professor Chomsky likens Ukraine, a Russian neighbor, joining NATO, to Mexico joining a pro-China alliance. He condemns President Putin's invasion of Ukraine, but asserts that it was instigated."—"In Depth with Noam Chomsky" [04-03-2022, on C-SPAN]

What They Don't Tell You about NATO with Noam Chomsky >

https://youtu.be/zOHUJI0ivfk?feature=shared

#NoamChomsky #NATO #ColdWar #history #Gorbatchev #USA #Russia #pact #EastEurope #agreement #MilitaryAlliance #history