Overview
I am a third year PhD student.
heteronomous conceptions of class consciousness and the second on the thought of Paul Mattick Sr.Publications
- 2024. Review of Primitive Communism Is Not What It Used To Be: At the Origin of Male Domination. In Marx and Philosophy Review of Books.
- 2024. Review of State Capitalism and Development in East Asia since 1945. In Marx & Philosophy Review of Books.
- 2023. Review of Marx, A French Passion: The Reception of Marx and Marxisms in France’s Political-Intellectual Life. In Marx & Philosophy Review of Books.
- 2022. Review of The Science and Passion of Communism: Selected Writings of Amadeo Bordiga (1912-1965). In Marx & Philosophy Review of Books.
- 2019. « Désordre dans la poésie et l'activité révolutionnaire du surréaliste Benjamin Péret ». In Petites Pensées.
Presentations
- "On the Current Push for Absolute Surplus-Value in the West" at the Historical Materialism Conference of November 2023.
- "Critiques of the Soviet Economy" at the Cardiff Law and Politics PGR Symposium of May 2023.
Background
- 2019-2020 EHESS (École des hautes études en sciences sociales) - Master's Degree in Humanities and Social Science (Political Studies)
- 2015-2020 Sciences Po Lille - (Bi-diplôme) Diplôme de l’Institut d’Études Politiques de Lille, Master's Degree in Philosophy, Politics and Economics
- 2015-2019 University of Kent - (Bi-diplôme) Bachelor of Arts in Politics and International Relations
Publication
2024
- Moysan, E. 2024. A Marxist critique of the Soviet economy. PhD Thesis, Cardiff Univeristy.
Thesis
- Moysan, E. 2024. A Marxist critique of the Soviet economy. PhD Thesis, Cardiff Univeristy.
Research
My research interests include: Political Theory, Political Science, Economic Thought, Economic History, Marx, Marxism, Class Consciousness, Surrealism, Terrorism.
My thesis is a Marxist critique of the Soviet economy. The USSR is often used to discredit Marx's thought. My thesis aims to submit the USSR to a Marxist critique to help differentiate the two. After all, the official ideology of the regime claimed to be based on Marx's thought. But this is not a mere critique of ideology. This thesis aims to uncover the nature of the Soviet mode of production.
There have been many critical Marxist theories on the subject. The most common are: degenerated workers' state, Asiatic mode of production, bureaucratic collectivism, state capitalism, competetive capitalism. This thesis will help weed out misunderstandings on Marx's thought and clarify the core features of the capitalist mode of production and thus also define communist society. My thesis criticises all previous theories, including those close to my conception. I not only confront these theories to Marx's thought, but also to empirical data about the Soviet economy.
However, the goal is not to unearth, collect and present empirical data on the Soviet economy. Rather, my thesis will present a Marxist analysis of the development of the Soviet economy based on a synthesis of empirical studies in order to shine a light on the political debate around the nature of the USSR. Thus, my work is not a vivid description of Soviet society but seeks to theorise the economic and political basis of this society.
Moreover, many Marxist criticisms of the USSR concentrate on political events, especially the Revolution, and not an analysis of the relations of production. Most Marxist theories of the USSR either ignore or distort the role of the world market, ignore class striggle and cannot explain the Soviet economy's long crisis and the collapse of the Soviet Union. My thesis aims to rectify these defects.
Thesis
A Marxist Critique of the Soviet Economy
The USSR is often used to discredit Marx's thought. This thesis aims to submit the USSR to a Marxist critique to help differentiate the two. After all, the official ideology of the regime claimed to be based on Marx's thought. But this is not a mere critique of ideology. This thesis aims to uncover the nature of the Soviet mode of production.
There have been many critical Marxist theories on the subject. The most common are: degenerated workers' state, Asiatic mode of production, bureaucratic collectivism, state capitalism, competetive capitalism. This thesis is closer to the latter. If the Soviet economy can be shown to be based on the labourer’s separation from the conditions of labor, then the theoretical categories developed in Marx's Capital are sufficient to analyse it. This thesis will help weed out misunderstandings on Marx's thought and clarify the core features of the capitalist mode of production and thus, negatively, define communist society.
But this thesis criticises all previous theories, including those close to its conception. A good critical overview of these theories was given by Marcel Van der Linden in his book Western Marxism and the Soviet Union. However, while it confronted these theories to Marx's thought, it did not confront them to empirical data about the Soviet economy. By contrast, this thesis will not limit itself to an immanent critique of Marxist theories on the nature of the USSR.
However, the goal is not to unearth, collect and present empirical data on the Soviet economy. Rather, the thesis will present a Marxist analysis of the development of the Soviet economy based on a synthesis of empirical studies in order to shine a light on the political debate around the nature of the USSR. Thus, this work is not a vivid description of Soviet society but seeks to theorise the economic and political basis of this society.
Moreover, many Marxist criticisms of the USSR concentrate on political events, especially the Revolution, and not an analysis of the relations of production. Most Marxist theories of the USSR either ignore or distort the role of the world market, treat the working class as a mere economic category or as domesticated and have difficulty explaining the collapse of the Soviet Union. This thesis aims to rectify these defects.
Teaching
This year I am teaching seminars in the following modules:
- Introduction to Political Thought (2023-2024 Autumn Semester)
- Introduction to Political Science (2023-2024 Spring Semester)
I have taught the following modules:
- Introduction to Political Thought (2022-2023 Autumn Semester)
- Introduction to Political Science (2022-2023 Spring Semester)
I have completed the ‘Launchpad: Introduction to Teaching and Supporting Learning’ workshop and am currently part of the Cardiff University Education Associate Fellowship Programme.
Supervisors
Graeme Garrard
Professor in Politics
Contact Details
Research themes
Specialisms
- Political theory and political philosophy
- Political science
- Social and political philosophy
- History of economic thought
- Economic history