Word: communisms
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...jobs, while only 18.4% chose the good Communist option of wanting to participate in the construction of a new industrial complex. In a sampling of workers attending political study groups in the Estonian capital of Tallin, less than 1% said they were interested in learning about the philosophy of Communism...
Trouble is, the plan fails to cope with the fundamental problems. The Soviet economy does not need minor rejiggering or slight changes in emphasis, but a complete overhaul. To be sure, Communism scored great accomplishments in turning backward Russia into a major industrial power in half a century, with a G.N.P. approaching $600 billion. But the development has been uneven. The Soviet command-style economy, with its rigid planning, central controls and bias against experimentation, simply no longer works effectively. Specialization demands decentralization. No single, central planning agency can fine-tune a diversified modern economy. The industrialized world has passed...
...show up. At present, a Soviet worker produces only half as much as his U.S. counterpart and a Russian farmer one-fifth as much. Shoddy work habits are a regular target for the acerbic cartoonists of Krokodil, the Soviet humor magazine. The workers, in turn, joke bitterly about Communism's unfulfilled promise. What is the difference between an American and a Russian fairy story? goes one joke. The American story begins, "Once upon a time there was ..." The Russian one starts, "Some day there will...
...East German regime keeps the best products out of East German consumers' hands; quality items are strictly for export to the West, second-rate stuff for "fraternal allies," third-rate goods for home consumption. Even though the East Germans are Communism's most efficient workers, they produce only 50% as well as their West German brothers. While take-home wages average about $142 a month, a nylon shirt in East Germany costs $20, a pair of men's quality shoes...
...France's last agony . . . stems from her inability to believe in anything whatsoever . . . Communism may permit the Russians to believe in Russia for reasons that put you to sleep standing up, but even so it is irreplaceable...