State Socialism - State Socialism in Communist States

State Socialism in Communist States

The economic model adopted in the former Soviet Union, Eastern Europe and other Communist states is often described as a form of state socialism, and in some cases, state capitalism. The ideology was based on Socialism in One Country; this system was based on state ownership of the means of production, and bureaucratic management over production and the workplace by state officials ultimately subordinate to an all-encompassing communist party. Rather than the producers controlling or managing production, the party controlled the government machinery which directed the national economy on behalf of the communist party and planned production and distribution of capital goods.

In the 20th century's so-called "communist states", the state did not in fact wither away. Some Marxists defend them and contend that the transitional period simply wasn't finished. Other Marxists denounce those "Communist" states as Stalinist, arguing that their leadership was corrupt and that it abandoned Marxism in all but name. In particular, some Trotskyist schools call those countries degenerated workers' states to contrast them with proper socialism (i.e. workers' states); other Trotskyist schools call them state capitalist, to emphasise the lack of true socialism and presence of defining capitalist characteristics (wage labor, commodity production, bureaucratic control over workers).

In the former Yugoslavia, the successor political parties to the League of Communists in Serbia and Montenegro, the Socialist Party of Serbia and the Democratic Party of Socialists of Montenegro have advocated progression towards a free-market economy but also advocated state economic planning of elements of the economy, maintaining social welfare and have advocated significant state influence in the media.