The Communistic Societies of the United States

The Communistic Societies of the United States
Author: Charles Nordhoff
Publisher: Cosimo, Inc.
Total Pages: 486
Release: 2008-12-01
Genre: History
ISBN: 1605204455

Experiments in communism sprang up all over the United States in the latter half of the 19th century, idealistic attempts at utopian living amidst the clanging capitalism of the expanding nation. They were already on their way out when American journalist CHARLES NORDHOFF (1830-1901) took his grand tour of these communities, and his unsentimental, unbiased examination of their origins, religious beliefs, daily life, social habits, and other details-based on his own firsthand observation and first published in 1875-remains the best accounts we have of: [ the Amana Society [ the Harmonists at Economy [ the Separatists of Zoar [ the Shakers [ the Oneida and Wallingford Perfectionists [ the Aurora and Bethel Communes [ the Icarians [ the Bishop Hill Colony [ the Cedar Vale Commune [ the Social Freedom Community Complete with a look at three colonies not communistic in nature-Anaheim, California; Vineland, New Jersey; and Silkville Prairie Home, Kansas-and statistics on commune life as it existed in the day, this is an invaluable resource for students of socialism and communism, of American social experiments, and of the little-explored corners of American history in general.

Uncivil Society

Uncivil Society
Author: Stephen Kotkin
Publisher: Modern Library
Total Pages: 257
Release: 2010-10-12
Genre: History
ISBN: 0812966791

Twenty years ago, the Berlin Wall fell. In one of modern history’s most miraculous occurrences, communism imploded–and not with a bang, but with a whimper. Now two of the foremost scholars of East European and Soviet affairs, Stephen Kotkin and Jan T. Gross, drawing upon two decades of reflection, revisit this crash. In a crisp, concise, unsentimental narrative, they employ three case studies–East Germany, Romania, and Poland–to illuminate what led Communist regimes to surrender, or to be swept away in political bank runs. This is less a story of dissidents, so-called civil society, than of the bankruptcy of a ruling class–communism’s establishment, or “uncivil society.” The Communists borrowed from the West like drunken sailors to buy mass consumer goods, then were unable to pay back the hard-currency debts and so borrowed even more. In Eastern Europe, communism came to resemble a Ponzi scheme, one whose implosion carries enduring lessons. From East Germany’s pseudotechnocracy to Romania’s megalomaniacal dystopia, from Communist Poland’s cult of Mary to the Kremlin’s surprise restraint, Kotkin and Gross pull back the curtain on the fraud and decadence that cashiered the would-be alternative to the market and democracy, an outcome that opened up to a deeper global integration that has proved destabilizing.

Institutional Design in Post-Communist Societies

Institutional Design in Post-Communist Societies
Author: Jon Elster
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Total Pages: 368
Release: 1998-03-28
Genre: Biography & Autobiography
ISBN: 9780521479318

The authors of this book have developed a new and stimulating approach to the analysis of the transitions of Bulgaria, the Czech Republic, Hungary, and Slovakia to democracy and a market economy. They integrate interdisciplinary theoretical work with elaborate empirical data on some of the most challenging events of the twentieth century. Three groups of phenomena and their causal interconnection are explored: the material legacies, constraints, habits and cognitive frameworks inherited from the past; the erratic configuration of new actors, and new spaces for action; and a new institutional order under which agency is institutionalized and the sustainability of institutions is achieved. The book studies the interrelations of national identities, economic interests, and political institutions with the transformation process, concentrating on issues of constitution making, democratic infrastructure, the market economy, and social policy.

Political Parties in Post-Communist Societies

Political Parties in Post-Communist Societies
Author: M. Spirova
Publisher: Springer
Total Pages: 233
Release: 2007-06-14
Genre: Political Science
ISBN: 0230605664

This is a study of party development in the post-communist world. Based on extensive fieldwork in Bulgaria and Hungary, as well as aggregate data from twelve post-communist states, this study provides an explanation of the behaviour of parties since 1990, and offer new insights into the party behaviour in the future.

Post-Communist Mafia State

Post-Communist Mafia State
Author: B lint Magyar
Publisher: Central European University Press
Total Pages: 337
Release: 2016-03-01
Genre: Political Science
ISBN: 6155513546

Having won a two-third majority in Parliament at the 2010 elections, the Hungarian political party Fidesz removed many of the institutional obstacles of exerting power. Just like the party, the state itself was placed under the control of a single individual, who since then has applied the techniques used within his party to enforce submission and obedience onto society as a whole. In a new approach the author characterizes the system as the ?organized over-world?, the ?state employing mafia methods? and the ?adopted political family', applying these categories not as metaphors but elements of a coherent conceptual framework. The actions of the post-communist mafia state model are closely aligned with the interests of power and wealth concentrated in the hands of a small group of insiders. While the traditional mafia channeled wealth and economic players into its spheres of influence by means of direct coercion, the mafia state does the same by means of parliamentary legislation, legal prosecution, tax authority, police forces and secret service. The innovative conceptual framework of the book is important and timely not only for Hungary, but also for other post-communist countries subjected to autocratic rules. ÿ

The System Made Me Do It

The System Made Me Do It
Author: Rasma Karklins
Publisher: M.E. Sharpe
Total Pages: 240
Release: 2005-04-25
Genre: Political Science
ISBN: 9780765633484

Strike up a conversation with a citizen from the post-communist region and invariably the talk will turn to the topic of corruption - the misuse of public power for private gain. People are sure that corruption is widespread, whether from their own experiences or stories they have heard from others. They feel frustrated that there seems to be nothing they can do about it, that they are helpless, and that they are being played for fools. And many are cynical: they feel that they, too, have to play the game because "the system" compels them to do so. But what system exactly? What are the structures and mechanisms of corruption in post-communist societies? "The System Made Me Do It" is the first comprehensive study of the origin, nature, and consequences of corruption in post-communist societies. While international actors decry corruption as a major impediment to democracy building and economic development, the problem is not well understood. This book fills that gap, and suggests innovative and practical institutional strategies for containing corruption. It achieves a rare and perfect balance of disciplined analysis, practicality, and passion.

Communism's Shadow

Communism's Shadow
Author: Grigore Pop-Eleches
Publisher: Princeton University Press
Total Pages: 355
Release: 2017-05-09
Genre: Political Science
ISBN: 1400887828

It has long been assumed that the historical legacy of Soviet Communism would have an important effect on post-communist states. However, prior research has focused primarily on the institutional legacy of communism. Communism's Shadow instead turns the focus to the individuals who inhabit post-communist countries, presenting a rigorous assessment of the legacy of communism on political attitudes. Post-communist citizens hold political, economic, and social opinions that consistently differ from individuals in other countries. Grigore Pop-Eleches and Joshua Tucker introduce two distinct frameworks to explain these differences, the first of which focuses on the effects of living in a post-communist country, and the second on living through communism. Drawing on large-scale research encompassing post-communist states and other countries around the globe, the authors demonstrate that living through communism has a clear, consistent influence on why citizens in post-communist countries are, on average, less supportive of democracy and markets and more supportive of state-provided social welfare. The longer citizens have lived through communism, especially as adults, the greater their support for beliefs associated with communist ideology—the one exception being opinions regarding gender equality. A thorough and nuanced examination of communist legacies' lasting influence on public opinion, Communism's Shadow highlights the ways in which political beliefs can outlast institutional regimes.