Veřejné záchodky ze zlata - Konflikt mezi komunistickým utopismem a ekonomickou racionalitou v předsrpnovém Československu – Suk Jiří (2016)

At the center of Suk's study is the thinking of Czechoslovak revisionist economists of the 1960s, with particular attention paid to Ota Šik, his transformation from a Stalinist dogmatist into a convinced reformist, and later one of the prominent protagonists of the Prague Spring of 1968. However, the scope of the work is much broader. In the introductory chapter, the author attempts to reconstruct the intellectual history of the communist experiment, from Marx's theoretical foundations through Lenin's 'development' and practical implementation in revolution, war communism, and later in the NEP, to Stalin's culmination in the form of a new 'science' – the political economy of socialism – and the theory of intensifying class struggle. He further addresses the political, and especially economic, development in Czechoslovakia after February 1948, when a Soviet-type socialist state was formed, characterized by a one-party dictatorship, massive changes in ownership and social structure, and a centrally planned economy. However, serious economic difficulties, disproportions, and lagging began to manifest in this model early on, leading to the first serious attempt at reforming central planning by the end of the 1950s. The subsequent attempt, associated with Šik's name, was related to a more consistent escape from...