What was real socialism the term which originated in twentieth-century socialist societies for the purpose of distinguishing them from abstract, theoretical socialism? In this volume, Michael A. Lebowitz considers the nature, tendencies, and contradictions of those societies. Beginning with the constant presence of shortages within real socialism, Lebowitz searches for the inner relations which generate these patterns. He finds these, in particular, in what he calls vanguard relations of production, a relation which takes the apparent form of a social contract where workers obtain benefits...