Just that until 1990 or so most Soviet university graduates were taught Marx. Many didn't like the indoctrination, but there were many for whom it formed the basis of their world view, even while they were highly dissatisfied with the legacy of Lenin and, especially, Stalin. I think it unbalanced to dismiss the idealism that some, not just Gorbachev, displayed, the belief that socialism could be rescued. This view is not popular with conservatives, but I likely could find support in the writings of Stephen F. Cohen, for example.

"It is not necessary to have hope in order to persevere."

It has been on my list to buy - when I can find a reasonably priced hard copy.

"It is not necessary to have hope in order to persevere."

The first part deals with how societies functioned in antiquity, before coins and money were developed - temple and palace based records of account, drawing on Thorstein Veblin, Lewis Mumford and Michael Kalecki.  the split of political economics into economics and political science and the consequences. Capital as Power is organized as a comparative history of economic thought going through such topics as the theory of prices, labor theory of value, productivity, what are the factors of production, etc. with a critique of Classical, Neo-Classical and Marxist views emphasizing the limitations of each. None them can really even explain adequately how prices are determined, or where profits are derived, in part because they all leave out the aspect of power. For Nitzan and Bichler, capital is the embodiment of power, the ability to creatively reorder society so as to serve the interests of the capitalists. In more traditional societies this was the role of the kings and/or priests. The book is now available free from the Nitzan Bichler Archives at York University in Canada, though I paid close to $50 for it in 2010.
   

"It is not necessary to have hope in order to persevere."