Much of the recent discussion about this important Marxist thinker seeks to define his role as a major theorist during Stalin's rise to power and in subsequent Soviet history. Michael Haynes's study approaches Nicolai Bukharin from a different focus, concentrating primarily on Bukharin's thought itself.

Beginning with Bukharin's disuccsion of capitalism, Haynes examines how the transition from capitalism to socialism is conceived and how it might be realized. He provides a detailed exposition of Bukharin's main themes without sidestepping the contradictions that arise in Bukharin's thought.

After retrieving Bukharin's work from the obscurity of historical reinterpretation, Haynes shows that the theoretical applicability of this work is still far from exhausted.