MY PERESTRIOKA : or WHY COMMUNISM WORKED...

IF YOU LOOK AT THE ROLE OF COMMUNISM IN RUSSIA DURING THE 20TH CENTURY YOU WOULD HAVE TO SAY IT WORKED VERY VERY WELL...!

HERE'S WHY :

COMMUNISM WAS A TRANSITIONAL PHASE FOR RUSSIANS BETWEEN THEIR MEDIEVEL CZARIST AUTOCRACY AND SERFDOM...AND ENTRY INTO THE MODERN WORLD...

COMMUNISM ALLOWED RUSSIANS TO "SKIP A GENERATION" OR TWO OF ORGANIC POLITICAL GROWTH...AND MOVE QUICKLY FROM BACKWARD FEUDALISM TO A MODERN STATE IN A FEW GENERATIONS... THERE WERE PROBLEMS...STALIN, HITLER...BIG PROBLEMS... BUT AMAZINGLY THE SYSTEM STILL DID WHAT IT WAS SUPPOSED TO DO...MODERNIZE RUSSIA...

SO WHY DID COMMUNISM FAIL...IF IT WORKED SO WELL...?

EXACTLY...IT FAILED BECAUSE IT WORKED...!

THROUGH COMMUNISM RUSSIA ADVANCED OUT OF ITS CZARIST PAST...INTO THE WORLD OF DEMOCRATIC INSTITUTIONS... AS BAD AS SOME PARTS OF COMMUNISM WERE...MUCH OF IT CLAIMED TO BE DEMOCRATIC...

RUSSIANS GREW TIRED OF THEIR ONE PARTY STATE...JUST AS THEY WERE TIRED OF THE CZARIST STATE... NOW THE RUSSIANS SEEM TO BE ON THEIR WAY TO A EUROPEAN STYLE DEMOCRACY... AND CERTAINLY THEY HAVE THE RESOURCES AND LAND MASS TO EXCEED EUROPE EVENTUALLY...

THAT LAND MASS WAS IN EFFECT THE CZARS GIFT TO RUSSIANS OF TODAY...

SO...BY FAILING THE RUSSIAN PEOPLE...COMMUNISM ACTUALLY WORKED...

IT GAVE THEM THE POPULAR ORGANIZATIONS AND SPACE TO GROW WHICH THEY DID NOT HAVE UNDER THE CZARS.

NOW MANY RUSSIANS ARE LIKE ADULT CHILDREN WHO "BLAME THEIR PARENTS" FOR ALL OF THEIR SHORTCOMINGS... THEY BLAME COMMUNISM...BUT THEY HAVE FORGOTTEN THE CZARS...(WHO ARE NOW SEEN AS SAINTS!)

THIS IS TO BE EXPECTED...ITS PART OF THE GROWTH PROCESS...

FURTHERMORE COMMUNISM SEEMS TO BE "WORKING" EVEN NOW IN CHINA... ALLOWING THE CHINESE TO "SKIP A GENERATION" LIKE THE RUSSIANS DID...TO ACHIEVE THEIR PLACE IN THE 21ST CENTURY...

THE REAL QUESTION IS...WHAT WILL THE WEST DO TO KEEP ITS ADVANTAGES...WHICH SEEM TO BE SLIPPING AWAY DAILY...

WHERE IS OUR COMMUNISM...?