Pathfinder, Volume 7, Number 6, December 1985 Page: 2
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JUN 6 1986
From page one
is merely a vehicle for carrying out the Party's
decisions. The size of the bureaucracy in the
U.S.S.R. is truly staggering. The bureaucracy has
the dominant role in choosing Soviet leaders. It is
also powerful enough to replace leaders who
threaten its leading role in the U.S.S.R. For exam-
ple, in 1984, a Soviet historian, Ambracumov,
wrote that some social problems in socialism
could be traced to mistakes made by the Party
bureaucracy. He was quickly criticized by a Party
bureaucrat, Bugajev. All problems in socialism,
Bugajev said, are caused by either the remnants of
the old system, or military-industrial complexes in
capitalist countries, or international financial car-
tels. To top it all, the Department of History of the
Soviet Academy of Science met (on whose re-
quest?) to discuss the issue, and came out in
support of bureaucrat Bugajev's position.
Gorbachev has identified the ruling elite's ma-
jor concerns: arms control and the economy. The
first issue will be the central theme of the Geneva
summit. The second, the most important domes-
tic problem in the Soviet Union, shapes that
country's external behavior.
The Soviet economic performance, which has
been changing from bad to worse, was described
in an earlier issue of Pathfinder (June 1985).
The economy is like a football game. It could be
improved by either changing the rules or better
coaching (management). Gorbachev means the
latter, while the American press assumes that he
means the former. Gorbachev's self-interest lies in
trying to improve the existing system of planning,
and not in changing it. He has already commend-
ed the Czechs for working to improve the system
and warned the Hungarians not to go too far in
reforming theirs. At home, the new liquor law is a
good example of Gorbachev's approach to social
problems. Drinking, a major problem in the Soviet
Union, has paralyzed the economy. For example,
in a small village in White Russia, each month the
village's 7,000 inhabitants of drinking age turn in
150,000 bottles for refunds. It comes to 21 bottles
of liquor per person each month. Gorbachev
would not address the causes of heavy drinking,
such as boredom, economic hardship, emptiness
of life and the apartheid of thoughts. And, he did
not ask what kind of changes in the system would
reduce those problems. Instead, he passed the law
that raised the drinking age, limited liquor stores
to five business hours, and imposed penalties for
being drunk in public. The outcome of this law has
been predictable: longer lines outside stores and
lots of violations.
Gorbachev's second major concern is the
arms race. He has two objectives: to lighten the
burden of defense expenditures and to stop our"star wars" project. Why? The Soviet bureaucracy
requires military strength to pursue its political
and ideological policies abroad. The Soviet mili-
tary demands, at a minimum, power balance with
the West. At the same time, defense spending is a
heavy burden for the economy. Thus, a reduction
in U.S. expenditures could lighten the burden
without necessarily giving up the weapons parity.
What Gorbachev needs, and has already pro-
posed in preparation for the summit is an agree-
ment on a limitation of weapons that promises to
be militarily beneficial to both super-powers, but
could easily turn out to be a one-sided concession
to the U.S.S.R. This is not to say that Gorbachev is
a liar, but there is no evidence that he is not. No
Soviet leader could be accused of having kept
promises made at conference tables.
The United States' "star wars" is the most
bothersome problem for the Soviets. The Soviets
have made it clear that they are willing to pay a
high price, in terms of concessions that were
nonnegotiable before, to induce us to reduce our
commitment to the project. On July 1, Pravda
wrote, and the same theme has been reiterated
almost daily by the Soviet press, that the U.S.
space-based defense shield aims to achieve both
a first-strike capability and U.S. military superiority
over the U.S.S.R. Moreover, the Soviets claim that
even research on this program is completely
destabilizing to the military balance of power and
should be stopped immediately. Forget the whole
thing, and we will make a lot of concessions.
The amount of Soviet shouting with respect to
any issue is directly related to that issue's value to
the West. The Soviet attitude toward "star wars" is
evidence of its potential value to the West. Should
the U.S. give up a weapon likely to give us an edge
over an adversary whose explicit objective is to
destroy our way of life? We think not.
The recent "concessions" of the Soviet Union
are evidence of how much it wishes to stop "star
wars." Why else the proposed reduction in nuclear
weapons, the publication (albeit censored) of
President Reagan's interview with Soviet journal-
ists, and the talk of letting the Sakahovs go free-
to influence world opinion.
So what do we gain by going to Geneva in two
weeks from this writing? If we stick with "star
wars," there will be no agreement, and the Soviets
will gain a propaganda victory. If we negotiate "star
wars" away, they will make a major step in neu-
tralizing our potential military advantage.
-Steve Pejovich
Charles MauricePage 2
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Texas A & M University. Center for Education and Research in Free Enterprise. Pathfinder, Volume 7, Number 6, December 1985, periodical, December 1985; Austin, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth1031997/m1/2/: accessed July 8, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu.; crediting UNT Libraries Government Documents Department.