Book Review: The Red Executive
| Published date | 01 December 1960 |
| DOI | 10.1177/002070206001500425 |
| Author | Ronald S. Ritchie |
| Date | 01 December 1960 |
| Subject Matter | Book Review |
BOOK
REVIEWS
375
terms
of
both
power
and
ideology.
It
was
the
Soviet
power
which
in
the
first
place
brought
about
the
establishment
of
the
communist
regimes
in
most
of
them,
and
which
has
provided
a
protective shield
for
their
continued existence.
It
was
the
communist
ideology,
however,
which
furnished
the
rationale
for the
emergence
of
People's
Democ-
racies,
and
has
sustained
the
Soviet
claim
to
the
leadership
of
the
"socialist
camp".
It
is
this
intricate
relationship
between
power
and
ideology
which
represents
the
main
theme
of
Professor
Brzezinski's
book.
Within
this
framework
the
author
discusses
the
manifold
factors
which affect
the
nature
of
relations
among
the
communist
states.
From
the geographical angle,
the
bloc's
policies
are
presented
largely
as
an
extension
of Soviet
foreign
policy,
and,
as
such
are
linked to
shifts
in
Moscow.
However,
the
various
local
peculiarities,
notably
those
of
Yugoslavia,
China,
Poland,
and
(at
one
time) Hungary,
also
receive
careful
treatment.
The
book
is
divided
into
two
separate
parts.
The
first
deals with
the
seizure
and
consolidation
of
power by
the
communists
up to
the
death
of
Stalin.
It
describes
facts
which
are
fairly
well
known,
but
by
sorting
them
out
in a
systematic
manner,
it
supplies
the
necessary
background
for an
analysis
of
the
long-term political
trends.
The
second
part
deals
with
the
crisis
and
subsequent
reconstruction
of
the
block's
unity
following
the
departure
of
Stalin.
It is
this
part
which
largely
breaks
new
ground
and,
necessarily,
is
more
controversial.
The
author
does
not pretend
that
his
interpretations
are
conclusive.
Yet
he
has
undoubtedly
produced
a
very
penetrating
analysis
of
the
subject.
The
book
is
based on
a
wealth
of
skillfully
selected
data,
it
has
an inner
unity,
and
is
written
in a
lucid
style.
As
such
The
Soviet
Bloc
represents
a
valuable
contribution
to
the
field
of
inter-
national relations
and
Soviet
studies
alike.
McGill
University
ADAM
BROMKE
THE
RED EXECUTIVE.
A
study
of
the
organization
man
in
Russian
in-
dustry.
By
David
Granick.
1960.
(New York:
Toronto:
Double-
day.
334pp.
$5.00.)
With
the
growing
knowledge
we
have
of
the
economic
attainments
of
the
U.S.S.R.,
it
becomes
increasingly
interesting
to
test
the
thesis
that
industrialization
and
higher
material
standards
will
work
a
subtle
alchemy
in
the
Communist
state-perhaps
even
bringing
it
to
the
point
where
the
Communist
state
and
the
enterprise
state
of
the
evolv-
ing
North
American
pattern
will
have
at
least
as
many
striking
simi-
larities
as
differences.
Recent developments
in
the
U.S.S.R.
might
bolster
this
hope.
Mr.
Khrushchev
evidently
feels
the
pressure
of
demands
for
consumer
goods
and
services.
He
seems
to
find
it
politic
to
recognize
and
to
feed
this
demand
publicly,
at
the
same
time
making
shorter
hours with
in-
creases
in
take-home
pay
a
part
of his
domestic
"platform".
It
is
even
hard
to
tell
at
times
which
is
the
stronger
stimulus
for
his
co-
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