ABSTRACT
The Soviet concept of developed socialism would seem to bear a strong resemblance to Western theories of "convergence" which flourished in the nineteen-sixties and early seventies. This chapter presents a comparison of the industrial society model accepted by most Western convergence theorists with the Soviet model of developed socialism. It summarizes the principal criticisms of convergence theory by both Soviet and Western analysts. The chapter suggests that the dismissal of convergence theory by both Soviet and Western critics, for reasons that are essentially ideological, is both hasty and un unwarranted. Soviet theorists urge that a number of changes in the social structure will accompany developed socialism. The industrial society model argued that modern industrial development would lead to a greater role for the state in managing society, the rise of the technocrat, increased political participation, the establishment of universalistic legal norms, and, in the most optimistic theories, a measure of world peace.
