Letters from Tomis

Book Review

Ted Grant Selected Works, Vol. One: Stalinism and the Class Nature of the Soviet Union. Edited by Steve Iverson. Well Red Books, 2017. 276 pp.

Summary

This volume collects a series of writings by Ted Grant (1913-2006), a well-known theorist in the Trotskyist tradition, focused on the question of Stalinism and the class nature of the Soviet Union. It is the first volume of his Selected Works, and is intended to reassert Grant’s analysis of Stalinism (especially his conception of “proletarian Bonapartism” or deformed workers’ state) for a new generation.  

The essays are drawn from different historical moments: analyses of the post-World War II political transformations, critiques of rival interpretations (for example, of “state capitalism”), debates about the bureaucracy, and reflections on the limits and possibilities of a planned economy under Stalinist institutional forms. Grant’s method is dialectical, seeking to integrate economic base, class relations, and the state’s role as mediated by bureaucratic layers.  

Strengths

1. Theoretical Clarity and Consistency. One of the strongest assets of this volume is how it assembles a coherent theoretical framework: Grant’s notion of “proletarian Bonapartism” (a regime in which the economy retains nationalization and planning, but political power is monopolized by a bureaucratic caste) is carefully deployed across historical cases. The volume helps clarify what distinguishes Grant’s view from alternative accounts (e.g. state-capitalism, or essentialist criticisms of the USSR). This is especially useful for students and researchers trying to navigate the complex debates in Marxist theory about class and state forms.

2. Historical Breadth and Use of Case Studies. The essays do not confine themselves to sterile definitions but examine real events: the conflict between Stalin and Tito, the Hungarian revolution of 1956, the dynamics in Eastern Europe, etc. These historical treatments ground Grant’s theory, showing both its explanatory power and its limitations.

3. Relevance to Contemporary Marxist and Socialist Debates. Given the collapse of the Soviet Union, the resurgence of interest in socialism, and ongoing debates about bureaucratic forms, nationalization, and democratic control, Grant’s work remains timely. The editor’s introduction frames the volume not simply as history but as theory in service of strategy.  

4. Accessible Yet Rigorous. Although the subject matter is dense, the collection is edited in a way that makes it readable. Grant’s prose is not overly abstruse; he often provides summaries, responses to rival arguments, clarifications which help readers unfamiliar with earlier debates (e.g. mid-20th century Trotskyist and anti-Trotskyist positions).

Contribution to the Field

Grant’s Selected Works, Vol. One reasserts a classical Trotskyist position about the USSR that has often been marginalized or caricatured in both mainstream Cold War historiography and some leftist criticisms. For students of Marxism, socialist thought, or 20th-century political economy, this volume is a valuable resource, both for its compilation of previously scattered essays and for its systematic treatment of bureaucratic distortion and class nature in planned economies.

It also helps clarify what is at stake in debates about “workers’ state” vs. “state capitalism” vs. “bureaucratic collectivism” etc.—not just academic distinctions, but implications for strategy, revolution, and democracy. In that regard, this work can serve as a bridge between historical study, theory, and activist praxis.

Overall Evaluation

The book delivers strongly in terms of theoretical insight and historical breadth, providing a lucid, coherent defense and elaboration of a Trotskyist understanding of Stalinism. Its relevance remains high for both scholarship and political practice, particularly given renewed interest in socialism and questions about state power.

Recommendations

This book is highly recommended for graduate students in political theory, Marxist studies, history of the Soviet Union, socialist politics, and comparative political economy. Also valuable for activists and theorists seeking more rigorous foundations for debates about the nature of bureaucracy, democratization inside socialist states, or the pitfalls and potentials of state planning.