Thoughts/Opinions regarding the "Marxist Regimes" series?

[Le Socialiste]

I've stumbled upon a long list of books on Amazon that explore and detail the political, social, and economic aspects of various Marxist governments. The title of the series is called "Marxist Regimes"; does anybody have any knowledge of these books? Are they biased in either direction (Left/Right), or are they largely neutral? They appear to have been written mostly in between 1985-1994 (though these are the only copyright dates I've seen so far). Does anyone on here know of the series, or own any of the books? Are they worth buying/reading?

[Chimurenga.]

Here's a review of the Mongolia book: http://www.amazon.com/Mongolia-Politics-Economics-Society-Marxist/dp/0931477387/ref=sr_1_10?ie=UTF8&qid=1302055418&sr=8-10


I used to read Alan Sanders' reports from Mongolia in the old Far Eastern Economic Review for many years and I always found them very informative. That's why I bought MONGOLIA:.... in Melbourne back in 1988. If you are interested in a picture of Mongolia up to 1986 or so, a picture garnished with a huge number of statistics, gleaned from the Mongolian People's Republic official publications or from Soviet sources, then this could be the book you are looking for. You will learn about milk prices in 1982, the number of animals in the national herd in different years, wages and pensions, and the amount of Mongolian exports to Britain. You get blow by blow development of economic and social changes. It is nearly impossible to read straight though you can find a large number of interesting nuggets if you persevere. It would be better as a reference work. The author includes some basic Mongolian history, but you can find more extensive and better written accounts elsewhere. Sanders obviously liked Mongolia and did not want to offend people, nor get on the `bad side' of officials and be banned from returning. I think he could have been more questioning, as statistics often reflect what governments want to show---of course not only in countries whose governments we don't like. The book was part of a series on socialist/communist countries in the world. Given that most of those countries have long-since discarded the system, it is inevitable that this book be quite out of date. While respecting the work that Sanders must have done to get this volume together, I would have to wonder who exactly would like to read it today.

My guess is that rest of these books would probably be similar. I'm not sure though.

[Le Socialiste]

Hm...that's too bad. Especially since I already placed an order for one of the books (about the People's Democratic Republic of Yemen). :(

Oh well, I'll read it when I get it and see what I think. Thanks for the link/review.

[Chimurenga.]

Hm...that's too bad. Especially since I already placed an order for one of the books (about the People's Democratic Republic of Yemen). :(

Oh well, I'll read it when I get it and see what I think. Thanks for the link/review.

No problem. That still sounds interesting though. Especially considering that there isn't much out there about the People's Democratic Republic of Yemen. I've found one pamphlet which can be viewed here: http://fuckyeahmarxismleninism.tumblr.com/post/673073038/south-yemen-hitched-to-a-red-star-a-report-from

Other than that, not too much.

[milk]

Michael Vickery's sort of follow-up to Cambodia 1975-1982, called Kampuchea: Politics, Economics and Society is part of this series. Although I think it will be made available for free as a PDF download from his own site (http://www.michaelvickery.org/) at some point.

[bailey_187]

hmm, why is Ghana included?

[Le Socialiste]

You know, I'm not sure! I looked it up, and I have yet to find documents pertaining to a Marxist-led government in Ghana. Perhaps the country had a substantial movement that emphasized Marxism? I don't know.

[Le Socialiste]

Oh, wait - Kwame Nkrumah, a man who led the country from 1952 to 1966 is considered to be a socialist. According to Wikipedia (which I acknowledge isn't the best of sources), he was a proponent of Pan-Africanism, socialist values/principles, and believed that socialism was the only way forward for Ghana - as opposed to liberal economics. He was also awarded the Lenin Peace Prize by the Soviet Union. Here's a quote of his:



"We know that the traditional African society was founded on principles of egalitarianism. In its actual workings, however, it had various shortcomings. Its humanist impulse, nevertheless, is something that continues to urge us towards our all-African socialist reconstruction. We postulate each man to be an end in himself, not merely a means; and we accept the necessity of guaranteeing each man equal opportunities for his development. The implications of this for socio-political practice have to be worked out scientifically, and the necessary social and economic policies pursued with resolution. Any meaningful humanism must begin from egalitarianism and must lead to objectively chosen policies for safeguarding and sustaining egalitarianism. Hence, socialism. Hence, also, scientific socialism."


He was apparently ousted in a military-led coup in 1966. No surprise there. The imperialist/corporate interests couldn't stomach a self-reliant, independent nation (when have they ever?).

[Le Socialiste]

I really should have read the entire article through: it also says that he restricted freedoms, made strikes illegal, and introduced military conscription. :(

Oh, and banned all other political parties (save his own), and made himself "president for life" of both nation and party.