Was Communism Doomed? Human Nature, Psychology and the Communist Economy.
This book explores whether the ideology of communism was doomed to failure due to psychological rather than structural flaws. Does communism fail because there is not enough individual incentive and does it discourage psychological ownership? If so, does it produce learned helplessness and therefore...
| Main Author: | Kemp, Simon. |
|---|---|
| Other Authors: | SpringerLink (Online service) |
| Format: | eBook |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
Cham :
Springer International Publishing,
2016.
Cham : 2016. |
| Physical Description: |
1 online resource (285 pages) |
| Subjects: |
| Summary: |
This book explores whether the ideology of communism was doomed to failure due to psychological rather than structural flaws. Does communism fail because there is not enough individual incentive and does it discourage psychological ownership? If so, does it produce learned helplessness and therefore empower evil? This book considers such questions, both with respect to how communism actually functioned and how it could have functioned using examples from Eastern Europe and the USSR itself during the 20th century. It reviews both the ideology of communism and its history, as well as the basic but difficult question of how one might decide whether an economic system can be defined as successful or not. Simon Kemp is Professor of Psychology at the University of Canterbury in New Zealand, with long-standing interests in economic psychology and the history of psychology. His previous books include Public Goods and Private Wants: A Psychological Approach to Government Spending and Medieval Psychology. He has also been editor of the Journal of Economic Psychology. |
|---|---|
| Item Description: |
Preface; Contents; 1: Introduction; Structure of€the€Book; References; 2: The Aims of€Communism; The Essentials of€Communist Ideology; Communist Ideology; What Is a€Communist System?; Marxist and€Soviet Psychology; References; 3: What Is Success for€a€Communist Economic System?; Economic Indicators; Objective Social Indicators; Psychological Indicators; Behavioural Indicators: Which System Do People Prefer?; The New Man; So How Do We€Evaluate?; References; 4: A Short History of€Communism; Political History of€Communism up€to€1960; The Communist Economy. Russian and€Soviet Agriculture End of€Communism in€the€Soviet Union and€East Europe; Survivors: Communism in€China and€Cuba; References; 5: Possible Psychological Flaws in€Communism; Choice of€Psychological Flaws; Psychological Causation; Timing and€Comparisons; References; 6: The Coordination Problem; Hayek on€Coordination; Coordination Within Firms and€Other Organisations; The Coordination Problem and€Communism; The Coordination of€Aims; Conclusions; References; 7: Incentives; Incentives and€Motivation; Why Do People Work?; The Relationship Between Reward and€Motivation. Do Taxation and€Social Welfare Undermine the€Incentive to€Work? Communism and€Incentives; References; 8: Psychological Ownership; Responsibility; Legal and€Psychological Ownership; Development of€Psychological Ownership; Consequences of€Psychological Ownership; The Effect of€Farm Ownership on€Productivity; Psychological Ownership in€Communist Countries; References; 9: Learned Helplessness, Locus of€Control, Self-Efficacy; Learned Helplessness; Locus of€Control; Self-Efficacy; Belief in€Free Will; Attributions; Applications: Depression and€Unemployment. Why Might Communism Produce Learned Helplessness or an External Locus of Control? Learned Helplessness and Locus of Control in Communist Societies; References; 10: Does Communism Empower Evil?; The Psychology of Evil; Communist Agents of Evil; Evil Leaders; Evil in Later Communist Governments; Corruption; Evil and the Communist Economic System; Conclusions; References; 11: Conclusions; Centralised Command Economies; Ownership; "To each according to their needs"; Verdict and Caveats; Implications for Better Communism; Does a Command Economy Requires an Authoritarian Government? Implications for€Better Organisations Would Communism Be€Worth It?; Reference; Bibliography; Index. This book explores whether the ideology of communism was doomed to failure due to psychological rather than structural flaws. Does communism fail because there is not enough individual incentive and does it discourage psychological ownership? If so, does it produce learned helplessness and therefore empower evil? This book considers such questions, both with respect to how communism actually functioned and how it could have functioned using examples from Eastern Europe and the USSR itself during the 20th century. It reviews both the ideology of communism and its history, as well as the basic but difficult question of how one might decide whether an economic system can be defined as successful or not. Simon Kemp is Professor of Psychology at the University of Canterbury in New Zealand, with long-standing interests in economic psychology and the history of psychology. His previous books include Public Goods and Private Wants: A Psychological Approach to Government Spending and Medieval Psychology. He has also been editor of the Journal of Economic Psychology. Includes bibliographical references and index. |
| Physical Description: |
1 online resource (285 pages) |
| Bibliography: |
Includes bibliographical references and index. |
| ISBN: |
9783319327808 3319327801 |