ABSTRACT
Revisions in the ideology of Soviet foreign policy parallel those which have accompanied domestic political reforms, and are linked with them both explicitly and implicitly. A brief outline of Mikhail Gorbachev's domestic political agenda will help to show why. Intellectual and cultural life are in ferment, for Gorbachev has insisted on a policy of glasnost' to stimulate creative thinking, air problems and help activate public participation in the reform process. Despite ail acknowledged difficulties; Gorbachev continues aggressively to defend his program and rally supporters, insisting that there is no alternative to radical reform. Gorbachev's criticisms of ideology make it clear that he is impatient with those who would use it to resist his reforms. Gorbachev prefers realism and pragmatism and repeatedly urges that "ideological work be brought closer to life". Gorbachev's critique is primarily aimed at the principles and practices which are institutionalized in the mechanisms of the centrally planned economy.
