THE DEVELOPMENT OF THE SOVIET ECONOMY

25 March 1953

CONTENTS

INTRODUCTION--Colonel T.A. O'Neil,

Member of the Faculty, ICAF

SPEAKER--Dr. Carroll Quigley, Professor of History,

School of Foreign Service, Georgetown University.

GENERAL DISCUSSION 

Publication No. L53-120
INDUSTRIAL COLLEGE OF THE ARMED FORCES
Washington, D. C.

Introduction

Dr, Carroll Quigley, Professor of History, School of Foreign Service, George own University, was born in Boston Massachusetts, 9 November 1910. He was educated at Boston Latin School, 1924—1929, and at Harvard University, obtaining an A.B. (magna cum laude) in 1933, and M.A. in 1934, and a Ph.D. in 1938, He was an instructor in history at Princeton University in 1935—37, there to do research work at the public archives of Paris and Milan on the Woodberry Lowery Traveling Fellowship of Harvard University. While abroad he wrote his doctoral dissertation on “The Public Administration of the Napoleonic Kingdom of Italy, 1805—1814” From 1938 to 1941 he was instructor and tutor in the Division of History, Government, and Economics at Harvard University. Since 1941 he has been at the School of Foreign Service of Georgetown University, at first as lecturer in history and now as Professor of History and Head of the Department of History. He is regarded as an authority on the comparative history of civilizations and the history of Europe in the twentieth century. He is a member of the American Historical Association, the American Economic Association, the American Anthropological Association, and other learned societies. He is engaged at present in writing two books a two—volume general history of European civilization and a history of twentieth century Europe. His last published work was “Falsification of a Source in Risorgimento History” appearing in the "Journal of Modern History” for June 1949.
 
THE DEVELOPMENT OF THE SOVIET ECONOMY
25 March 1953
 
COLONEL O’NEIL:This morning we continue our study of the USSR. Our speaker is Dr. Carroll Quigley, Professor of History and Head of the History Department, School of Foreign Service, Georgetown University.
 
Dr. Quigley has studied extensively in the fields of history, government, and economics, and last year was a consultant with the Economic Potential Branch of the College. He will give us a generalized description of “The Development of the Soviet Economy.”
 
It is a pleasure to welcome Dr. Carroll Quigley.

DR. QUIGLEY: Admiral Hague, gentlemen: In order to get this rather large subject into a rather brief period, I am going to take certain liberties with it. First, I am going to emphasize relationships rather than facts. I will assume that if you want to know any facts you could probably find them in some of the books that are available.
 
Secondly, I will emphasize the early part of the history of the Soviet economy rather than the latter part. The reason is that you are expanding more emphasis on the recent period in other lectures. The lecture will be divided into two parts, each subdivided into four divisions. The first, part will discuss four factors which have determined what happened in the Soviet economy as it progressed through time from 1917. All occurrences are the consequence of a large number of causes. If I were to list the causes and say that there were two, three, or four, I would be speaking in a way that would be falsifying the reality that we are talking about.

In this case I am going to say that what happened in the Soviet economy was the consequence of the interaction of four basic factors. Those were the Marxist ideology which the Bolsheviks had; second, the past history of Russia itself, particularly, of course, its economic history; third, the facts of economic reality. After all, you can't produce goods unless you have manpower, materials, so forth, and there are such things as economic realities, even in Russia. Fourth is the influence of external pressures. I am going to say something about those four in order.

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