The Laboratory for Comparative Social Research announces the next  regular seminar, which will be held in Moscow (Myasnitskaya st., 22, room 511) on February 4 at 18-00 p.m. Andrey Yakovlev (Director of the Institute for Industrial and Market Studies, Professor at the Faculty of Social Sciences, Higher School of Economics) will deliver a report “Constructing a New Society from the Top: Communist Beliefs and Their Influence on the Success and Failure of the Soviet Union”

This paper considers the economic and social development of USSR from the point of view of ‘limited access orders’ concept (North et al, 2009). Author notes that common beliefs in social equality led to broader access to education, development of healthcare system and opportunities for social mobility for non-elite members. That can explain success of early Soviet system. But these common beliefs had an artificial ideological origin and they came into deep conflict with the personal (private) interests of the new Soviet elite. Erosion of these common beliefs in late Soviet period predetermined the collapse of USSR.

North et al (2009) stress the importance of common beliefs for a successful transition from a limited access order to an open access society. From this point of view, the historical experience of the Soviet Union is extremely important because it was a unique case of a new social order based on a specific ideology widely shared throughout society.

The Soviet Union was clearly a LAO with a hierarchical social structure, limited access to information, limited opportunities for geographical mobility, and strong violence against opponents of the regime. However between the 1930s and the 1960s, the Soviet Union was able to create an advanced educational and research system, develop sophisticated industrial technologies and compete with the USA and other developed countries. At the same time the Soviet system included unified rules for elite members, perpetually lived organizations as well as consolidated political control of those organizations with the capacity for violence (including the army and security forces). 

We argue in this paper that one of the key factors of the USSR’s success during these decades was connected with opening access to education, the development of healthcare system, and the opportunity for social mobility for non-elite members. These elements of open access could be implemented in reality because social equality and social activity of masses were the important parts of the dominant communist ideology and were considered as an advantage in the competition with the capitalist world. These open access elements could be successfully implemented because they were supported by common beliefs in social equality. These common beliefs were clearly stimulated by official propaganda but they were also widespread in Soviet culture and art. It is extremely significant that Soviet intellectuals (intelligentsia) held these widely shared socialist values and beliefs till the end of the 1960s. As a result these common beliefs provided space for cooperation in society and helped to overcome the inefficiency of a planned economy.

However, these common beliefs had an artificial ideological origin and during this time they came into deep conflict with the personal (private) interests of the new Soviet elite. The realization of these private interests of the elite was restricted under Stalin’s regime with its mass repression. However, after Stalin’s death the Soviet elite became more autonomous. Therefore, since the 1960s, this conflict between the private interests of the elite and the common beliefs originating from communist ideology led to the limitation and differentiation of access to public goods and opportunities for social mobility. As a consequence common beliefs not supported by direct experience started to erode and this process finally predetermined the collapse of Soviet Union – because this social order was driven not by the private interests of economic agents and political actors but by ideological incentives. Thus the Soviet experiment helps us to understand that sustainable social development can rely only on common beliefs and values growing from the interactions of private interests.

Everyone interested is invited!

Working language is English.

Videoconference with St. Petersburg office of the LCSR (room 303, 55-2, Sedova st.) will be provided. Guests are free to enter the building.

Guests from Moscow are free to enter to the 5th floor from 17:45 till 18:15. For questions: +7-495-772-95-90 extension number 12244.

Also after the seminar a videotape will be put up after the summary of the presentation.