Paresh Chattopadhyay The Marxian Concept...

[Brosa Luxemburg]

Has anyone read Chattopadhyay's book The Marxian Concept of Capital and the Soviet Experience? Is it any good? What is the thesis of the book?

[Die Neue Zeit]

Comrade Cockshott's works have more level criticism, despite some issues. This guy, on the other hand, screams "state-capitalist" with an anti-party tone.

[Anarpest]

It's a very good book, with a lot of research put into it, both empirical and theoretical. It basically tries, unlike most books of this type, to begin its analysis of the Soviet Union 'from the bottom up,' that is, by first establishing the meaning of the concepts of value, capital and so on used in Marx, and then going on to give an analysis on this basis. It's probably more worthwhile than many other books on the subject, because of its attempt to make its theoretical basis clear, rather than simply giving out stray facts and arguments without a clear background, or, alternatively, trying to give suggestions to benevolently reform the Soviet Union without making a problematic of establishing its mode of production and how this links up with Marxian concepts. In addition, this kind of form means that things rely a lot less on 'common sense' appeals, which you'll generally see coming quite often from all sides in these kinds of debates; that is, arguments which presuppose that the concept of capital and the like are 'common sense' rather than actually seeking to grasp them.

By the way, if you're interested in it, you can read it online here (http://libcom.org/library/paresh-chattopadhyay-marxian-concept-capital-soviet-experience) on Libcom.

[Brosa Luxemburg]

Thanks guys.