The failure of command central planning in the twentieth century has led to a general disillusionment within the socialist movement worldwide. Some alternatives to capitalism have been proposed since the end of the Cold War, but none has offered an alternative form of economic calculation. This book explains how modern information technology may be used to implement a new method of economic calculation that could bring an end to capitalism and make socialism possible. In this book, the author critically examines a number of socialist proposals that have been put forward since the end of the Cold War. It is shown that although these proposals have many merits, their inability effectively to incorporate the benefits of information technology into their models has limited their ability to solve the problem of socialist construction. The final section of the book proposes an entirely new model of socialist development, based on a "needs profile" that makes it possible to convert the needs of large numbers of people into data that can be used as a guide for resource allocation. This analysis makes it possible to rethink and carefully specify the conditions necessary for the abolition of capital and consequently the requirements for socialist revolution and, ultimately, communist society. Information Technology and Socialist Construction will be of interest to students and scholars of political economy, the history of economic thought, labour economics and industrial economics.

The late Alec Nove explores the relationship between Marxist ideas and the Soviet reality and presents a methodology for understanding Soviet type societies.

In the four volumes of The Development Trajectory of Eastern societies and the Theories and Practices of Socialism, the author re-examines Marx and Engels' theories on the development trajectory of Eastern societies by integrating theoretical analysis of Marxist theories and an historical investigation of socialist revolution and socialist construction around the world. The collection challenges some predominant interpretations of Marx and Engels' historical materialism by focusing on that materialism, explaining the general laws of historical development and its particular trajectory in Eastern societies; discussing the attempts of the Russian Commune to avoid the torments of the capitalist system and tracing the victories and failures of the 100-year trajectory of socialism. The significance of Marx and Engels' socialist theories for contemporary social development in the Eastern societies is henceforth laid bare. The book will be a key reference for readers studying Marxism, Marxist philosophy and the history of philosophy.