ABSTRACT
A curious paradox of Soviet-American relations has been the compatibility of their strategic interests despite the incompatibility of their socioeconomic systems. Detente with the Soviet Union would throw into question the very basis of American policy, although there has already been an erosion of policy and institutions in response to the de facto shift in Soviet policy, the Atlantic alliance. American society has been progressively centralized, bureaucratized, and militarized as its material welfare has expanded, making it easier to manipulate policy and absorb dissent. One concrete result of John F. Kennedy's cautious attempt to improve Soviet-American relations was the test-ban treaty of July 1963, which was designed to reduce the risk of war. It indicated a common Soviet-American interest in preventing the proliferation of nuclear weapons, additionally in putting a stop to the contamination of the atmosphere. Whether Soviet-American relations would have continued a steady improvement had Kennedy lived and been re-elected cannot, of course, be stated with any certainty.
