ABSTRACT
In the new general secretary's view, more than any other factors it was the desolate conditon of the Soviet economy that handicapped domestic stability and the international position of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR). In discussing the prospects and problems of economic reform inside and outside the USSR, great relevance is attributed to the role of the Soviet bureaucracy. The condition of the Soviet economy at the outset of perestroika can be vividly depicted through an analogy with an airplane that was advanced at the 19th Communist Party of the Soviet Union party conference. Nor has Gorbachev's economic policy overcome as yet the traditional strategy of campaigns that are directed toward solving the problems found most urgent at the moment without knowing their long-term consequences or their effects upon other sectors of the economy. Part of the ensuing slow-down effects are connected with political risks and conflicting goals which even Gorbachev must take into consideration.
