Understanding Western Europe Through Inprecor: A Mid-1970s Perspective

The FAQ: our new series starts here

May 19, 2025

Q: What is Inprecor and who publishes it?
A: Inprecor was a multilingual Trotskyist journal that began publication in English around May 1974, until merging into Intercontinental Press. The English-language edition appeared every two weeks under the editorship of the United Secretariat of the Fourth International. It aims to fill a gap in the revolutionary Marxist press by providing news and analysis on the international workers' movement and world political events. The goal is to help revolutionary militants contribute to building the revolutionary international, place their actions in a world context, and strengthen political ties among militants in various countries.

Q: What was the "Long Boom" and why did it end?
A: Inprecor describes a prior period of economic expansion that had slowed by 1974 and ended in 1975. One issue refers to rapid growth in investment, production, and exports in the French economy that lasted until the oil crisis. Another mentions an accelerated expansion beginning in 1972—except in Italy—followed by a typical cyclical boom. This expansion ended with what the sources call the "generalized recession of 1974–75," described as the first major recession in the imperialist countries since the end of World War II. The crisis is characterized as a "classical crisis of overproduction."

Q: Does Inprecor describe the rise of “Eurocommunism”?
A: Inprecor describes changes that were later described as "Eurocommunism", without using that as a term. They analyze the positions and roles of Communist parties in Western Europe, such as the French Communist Party (PCF) and the Spanish Communist Party (PCE), and in Eastern Europe. The PCF’s analysis of the crisis of "state monopoly capitalism" and its views on devaluation and capital valorization are discussed. The sources also mention the PCE's involvement in the mass movement in Spain. There is criticism of propaganda from some "Marxists" suggesting that the Comecon countries form an isolated "socialist market" immune to the capitalist world market—this claim is rejected and linked to "social chauvinism" or "cosmopolitanism."

Q: How did the 1973 oil crisis impact European economies?
A: The oil crisis, marked by a sharp rise in oil prices, had significant impacts. Countries were affected differently depending on whether they exported oil or other raw materials whose prices rose. Non-oil exporters experienced the harshest blow since the Korean War boom. Countries such as India, Bangladesh, Pakistan, and most of Africa and Latin America were struck in multiple ways. For the French economy, heavily dependent on external energy, the "oil shock" was especially severe. The increased cost of oil imports accounted for almost the entire rise in energy consumption by 1972. While the rise in raw material prices benefited the Soviet Union (a major supplier), it harmed the "people’s democracies" in Eastern Europe.

Q: What political changes were happening in Southern Europe during this period?
A: Southern Europe saw significant political transformations, especially the fall of dictatorships. In Portugal, a military coup aimed at ending colonial wars led to mass mobilization and a powerful revolutionary surge after nearly half a century of dictatorship. In Spain, mass movements developed, particularly in Guipúzcoa, involving general strikes, factory actions, and growing worker commissions. The sources emphasize the strength of these movements and efforts to coordinate struggles against the dictatorship.

Q: Why were worker movements so powerful in the mid-1970s?
A: The economic crisis and the resulting generalized recession intensified class struggle and worker activism. The period was historically more favorable to the proletariat than the 1929–32 crisis. Massive unemployment and factory closures prompted organized responses. In Portugal, a "revolutionary advance of the masses" delivered major blows to capitalism. In Britain, the miners' strike demonstrated strong working-class solidarity. In the U.S., a coal miners’ strike was seen as linking labor issues to broader social problems, like energy costs. In Spain, factory occupations reflected militant organizing.

Q: What economic challenges did Western European countries face?
A: Western European countries were severely affected by the 1974–75 recession. Key challenges included:

Declining industrial production
Rising unemployment, including a "spectacular rise" in France and "massive unemployment" in West Germany
High inflation combined with unemployment (stagflation)
Credit restrictions that backfired
Declining investment and profitability
Increased bankruptcies
Balance of payments deficits in countries like Britain and Spain
Export challenges, even for industrial powers like West Germany

Q: How did the global economic system change during this period?
A: The global system was restructured. Semi-colonial countries' share of world trade declined. Exports of machinery, equipment, and entire factories gained importance. Oil-exporting countries became more central, and "petrodollars" were redirected from short-term deposits to long-term investments in imperialist countries. The crisis raised questions about the future organization of world trade and the possibility of new industrial centers emerging in the Global South, particularly for steel and agricultural products.

Q: What role did communist and socialist parties play in political transformations?
A: In West Germany, Social Democracy attempted to manage the crisis but faced pressure from capital. In Britain, the Labour government struggled with both the economy and political fallout. In Spain, the Socialist Party (PSOE) and the Communist Party (PCE), along with their unions, played major roles in mass mobilization. In Eastern Europe, ruling Communist bureaucracies contended with economic problems and popular unrest, experimenting with limited reforms.

Q: How did the economic crisis affect different social classes?
A: The working class suffered from high unemployment, wage pressure, and declining real income. Many faced layoffs and factory closures, leading to militant resistance. Capitalists saw reduced profits, rising bankruptcies, and sought to increase surplus value and consolidate capital. The bourgeoisie faced a crisis of political leadership, indecisiveness, and disagreements over state intervention. In countries like Spain, the peasantry also suffered due to an agricultural crisis.

Q: What were the long-term consequences of these mid-1970s transformations?
A: The recession revealed deep structural problems in capitalism and marked the beginning of a new phase of class struggle. It spurred discussions about long-term restructuring of the global economy, including shifts toward industrial development in semi-colonial countries and greater emphasis on machinery and technology in trade. It also exposed fundamental weaknesses in Eastern European economies—such as low consumption, internal imbalances, and growing dependency on Western trade.

Q: How did the economic crisis affect specific Western European countries (like West Germany, France, and Britain)?
A: The impact varied:

West Germany faced a steady decline in industrial output but remained relatively strong. Wage earners saw real income fall, and the country came under pressure from its neighbors over its policies.
France was hit hard due to its dependence on imported energy. Unemployment reached levels not seen since the 1930s. French capital tried to find new niches in the world market.
Britain was described as being "on the edge of the abyss," with high inflation, declining production, rising unemployment, and a significant trade deficit—signs of a deep profitability and accumulation crisis.

Q: What was the nature of trade between Western Europe and Eastern Europe?
A: Trade between Western Europe and Eastern Europe was growing, but with limitations. While Western exports to the East grew faster than total exports, Eastern economies could only absorb a limited amount. Trade prices in Comecon were based on average world prices over the previous five years, modified but not fully shielded from capitalist fluctuations. Western capitalists sought investment opportunities, such as Siberian oil, but demanded control. While the Soviet Union benefited from rising raw material prices, other Eastern European states became more dependent on the West.

Q: How was the "crisis of overproduction" manifested?
A: The 1974–75 recession is described as a classic crisis of overproduction, typical of capitalist cycles. It featured falling output and rising unemployment. Despite overproduction in major economies, shortages emerged in food and raw materials, unlike the 1930s when food prices collapsed. These shortages were partly due to deliberate underproduction policies, such as reducing dairy herds in the EEC or decreased investment in mining. The crisis also triggered a wave of bankruptcies, seen by some as a "purifying" function of capitalism.

Q: What were the different perspectives on the economic crisis among bourgeois economists?
A: Bourgeois economists were divided. Some advocated for continued restrictive policies, fearing inflation and skeptical of state intervention. Others warned that large state spending could delay recovery or worsen inflation. There were debates about how soon recovery might come. Some, including The Economist editors, predicted a quick recovery by late 1976 or early 1977, though they warned this might lead to a sharper recession afterward.

Discussion about this post

Ready for more?

Understanding Western Europe Through Inprecor: A Mid-1970s Perspective

The FAQ: our new series starts here

Further reading

Discussion about this post

Ready for more?