Nadezhda Krupskaya, a prominent Bolshevik and Lenin's wife, was a leading theorist on education in the early Soviet Union. Her writings emphasize the critical role of education in building socialism and fostering class consciousness among the working masses. Krupskaya advocated for a polytechnical education system that combined academic learning with practical skills to prepare individuals for productive labor and active participation in society.

She critiqued the bourgeois education system for perpetuating class divisions and sought to replace it with a system that emphasized collective values, critical thinking, and the integration of intellectual and manual labor. Krupskaya believed in the transformative power of education to eradicate illiteracy and empower the proletariat, making it a cornerstone of revolutionary change.

Her contributions laid the foundation for Soviet educational policy, focusing on egalitarian access, the alignment of education with socialist ideals, and the creation of a new type of individual committed to collective progress.

Sen Katayama’s The Labor Movement in Japan is a pivotal work analyzing the development of the labor movement in Japan during the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Katayama examines the rapid industrialization of Japan following the Meiji Restoration and its impact on the working class. He highlights the harsh conditions faced by laborers, including long hours, low wages, and lack of protections, which laid the groundwork for organized resistance.

Katayama traces the emergence of Japan’s trade unions, workers’ strikes, and early socialist movements, emphasizing their struggles against repression by the state and the capitalists. He also discusses the challenges posed by Japan’s militaristic and imperialistic tendencies, which sought to suppress labor movements in favor of nationalist and capitalist goals.

The text advocates for the international solidarity of workers and the adoption of socialist principles to overcome exploitation and build a more equitable society. Katayama’s work is a critical document in understanding the intersection of labor, socialism, and imperialism in Japan’s history.

Joseph Stalin’s 1952 work, Economic Problems of Socialism in the USSR, addresses the theoretical and practical issues of socialist economic development in the Soviet Union. Stalin explores the transition from socialism to communism, the role of commodity-money relations in a socialist economy, and the need for centralized planning to overcome contradictions inherited from capitalist systems. He emphasizes the importance of advancing heavy industry as the backbone of socialist construction while ensuring the gradual elimination of class distinctions.

Mao Zedong’s commentaries on Stalin’s text, written later, engage critically with Stalin’s conclusions, particularly on the persistence of contradictions under socialism. Mao highlights the dialectical nature of socialist development, emphasizing that contradictions between the people and the state, as well as within the productive forces and relations, continue to exist and drive progress even after the overthrow of capitalism. Mao underscores the necessity of continued class struggle, self-criticism, and vigilance against revisionism to achieve a fully communist society.

Together, the text and Mao’s commentaries provide an in-depth examination of socialist economics, illustrating both Stalin’s theoretical rigor and Mao’s focus on the dynamic, ongoing nature of revolutionary practice.