ABSTRACT
Something which is quite often not appreciated is the low learning capacity of the Soviet-type system. If by learning we mean change in reaction to unchanged actions (stimuli), then learning by a system in which all dissent has been eliminated (or its outward signs suppressed) has been shown to be agonizingly slow. Overvaluation of the ruling elites' collective memories and corresponding undervaluation of incoming current information adversely affect the capacity to recognise the problem, while the narrowing of information inflow decreases the capacity to select a solution. All this affects the system adversely, quite apart from the fact that proposed solutions may run contrary to the ruling elite's interest in maintaining the status quo — question to which we return in the next section.
