Perestroika in perspective : the design and dilemmas of Soviet reform

232 Pages·2014·11.276 MB·English

by  Padma Desai

Perestroika in Perspective

Perestroika in Perspective
THE DESIGN AND DILEMMAS
OF SOVIET REFORM
Padma Desai
PRINCETON UNIVERSITY PRESS
PRINCETON, NEW JERSEY
Copyright © 1989 by Princeton University Press
Expanded material for Chapter 10 copyright © 1990
by Princeton University Press
Published by Princeton University Press, 41 William Street
Princeton, New Jersey 08540
All Rights Reserved
Library of Congress Cataloging-ιη Publication Data
Desai, Padma
Perestroika in perspective
Bibliography ρ
Includes index
1 Soviet Union—Economic policy—1986-
2 Soviet Union—Politics and government—1982-
I Title
HC336 26D47 1989 338 947 88-32477
ISBN 0-691-04243-8
ISBN 0-691-00386-6
This book has been composed in Linotron Palatmo
Clothbound editions of Princeton University Press books are pnnted
on acid-free paper, and binding materials are chosen for strength
and durability Paperbacks, although satisfactory for personal
collections, are not usually suitable for library rebinding
Pnnted in the United States of America by Princeton University Press,
Pnnceton, New Jersey
The author gratefully acknowledges permission to reprint an excerpt
from the poem "The Road Not Taken " Copynght 1916 by Holt,
Rinehart and Winston and renewed 1944 by Robert Frost Repnnted
from The Poetry of Robert Frost, edited by Edward Connery Lathem,
by permission of Henry Holt and Company, Inc
For Anurādhā,
duhitā divaha

Contents
Preface ix
CHAPTER ONE
Why Reforms? 3
CHAPTER TWO
The Legacy of the Economic Malaise 8
CHAPTER THREE
The Reforms: Their Design 26
CHAPTER FOUR
The Likelihood of Success: 1965 versus Now 44
CHAPTER FIVE
Introducing Markets: A Faulty Design 51
CHAPTER SIX
Changing the "Superstructure": Beyond Economic
Reforms 61
CHAPTER SEVEN
Foreign Policy: New Thinking and Initiatives 82
CHAPTER EIGHT
The Strategy of Reform 97
CHAPTER NINE
How Long Will Gorbachev Last? Ill
CHAPTER TEN
Perestroika: Retrospect and Prospect 117
APPENDIX ONE
Illustrating the Economic Reform and Its
Inadequacy 195
viii · Contents
APPENDIX TWO
Political Structure and Election Procedures 200
Notes 205
References 209
Index 213
Preface
IN WRITING this book, which is based on a lecture given in
spring 1988 at Michigan State University, I have departed
from the conventional treatment of perestroiL·. Instead I
have taken a broader view that combines political, cul
tural, and economic elements. The political and cultural
parts of the program are fundamental to Mikhail Gor
bachev's overall design. Indeed, Gorbachev's wide-rang
ing reforms cannot be understood, let alone assessed, in
narrowly economic terms.
I have necessarily confined myself to sketching in only
the salient political and cultural aspects insofar as they
bear on the major theme of perestroika. The core of my
analysis is economic, reflecting my main expertise. I have,
however, kept the analysis and style wholly accessible.
Appendix 1 provides the necessary technical background
for the arguments in chapter 5, which advances the thesis
that the economic scope of perestroika to date is limited.
This book may be read along with the essay that intro
duces my recent collection of essays, The Soviet Economy
(1987). There I analyze the several factors responsible for
the Soviet economy's slowdown, stressing Gorbachev's
need to make truly systemic changes. Since then pere
stroika and glasnost' have taken fuller, bolder, even tumul
tuous, shapes. The present volume is a logical conse
quence: the General Secretary certainly plans to keep
not merely his fellow citizens but also Sovietologists in
ferment.
In conclusion, I would like to thank Abram Bergson,
Kenneth Gray, Franklyn Holzman, Holland Hunter, and
Alec Nove for helpful comments on an early draft of this
volume.