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From: wetcw@pyuxa.UUCP (T C Wheeler)
Newsgroups: net.politics
Subject: Re: In Defense of the Soviet Union
Message-ID: <693@pyuxa.UUCP>
Date: Thu, 12-Apr-84 09:55:01 EST
Article-I.D.: pyuxa.693
Posted: Thu Apr 12 09:55:01 1984
Date-Received: Fri, 13-Apr-84 08:26:35 EST
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Organization: Bell Communications Research, Piscataway N.J.
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Probably the major reason for the Soviet economy not failing is the
tremendous amount of export goods the Soviets are producing.  In order
to maintain a high export economy, the Soviets have had to export
their philosophy and subjugate other nations.  The Soviets will sell
anything to anybody in order to maintain the necessary production
levels to maintain their economy.  If changing the political system
of a potential customer fails, outright invasion becomes a part of
their economic system.  Each time the Soviet economy has become
weakened, we see the inevitable subjugation of another nation
beginning to unfold.  The Soviet economy requires a huge export
base in order to survive.  The Soviet merchant fleet is the largest
in the world and can be seen in nearly every port in the world.
Most of these ships return to their home ports empty, or with
only strategic materials which the Soviets need to supply their
production capacity.

Any economy based on the subjugation of nations in order to 
preserve an export base is eventually going to collapse.  Just
give it time.  The Soviets saw the subjugation of its neighbors
as a twofold benefit during the forties.  First, they provided
a buffer zone against Europe against invasion, but, they also
provided a huge and important customer base for exporting
surpluses and other goods to offset the disasters of the
previous twenty years.  Since that time, due to the rising
importance of exports from their subjugated neighbors, the
Soviets have had to look further and further away for their
export base.  Thus we see the results of their economic plans
in Central America and Africa.

China, at one time, tried to compete with the Soviets on their
own terms, but found the countries they were trying to export
to to poor to sustain an export base.  This was the main thrust
of the problems between China and Russia.  China has since found
that it can build an export base without relying on a gigantic
military base to support it.  Examples are the new open trade
agreements with Japan, the US, and dozens of other nations.
The Soviets were miffed that China was refusing to become 
another export dumping ground for their products and at
the same time attempting to build their own export base in
the Far East.  

As someone said on the net last week, the world's problems are
not ones of requiring more territory to subjugate just because
it is there, the problem is economic.  The desire to be able
to export goods to maintain a higher economy.  All of the claptrap
about the poor worker being better off in a Communist society
is just eyewash for the masses.  Socialism is nothing more than
a economic system that masks itself in phrases and cliches as
a social betterment system.  If true socialism worked to raise
the workers standard of living, instead of maintaining it at 
some artificial level, then everyone would be doing it.  The
constant scrambling for export markets, by fair or foul means,
is the only thing that keeps the Soviet economy from going
down the tubes. 

Now, for you defenders of the faith, the difference between
Capitalism and Socialism is in the approach to the worker.
The worker in a Capitalist system has the opportunity to choose
his/her work, lifestyle, and many other factors which affect
his/her life.  A Capitalist worker may even choose NOT to
work.  A person cannot choose Not to work under the Soviet
system.  A worker under the Soviet system has only very narrow
choices as to job, housing, location, and a dozen other
restrictions.  If I want to quit tommorrow and move to Oregon,
I can do just that without getting government approval.  Try
that under the Soviet system and see how far you get.

I won't even try to excuse the excesses of the Capitalistic
system, but I find it far less represive than the Soviet
system.  As to the numerous skirmishes the US is involved in
around the world, they are prime examples of the Soviets
trying to expand their export base at the expense of the US.
We too depend on an export base to continually expand our
economy.  Whenever our balance of trade gets out of whack,
we see unemployment lines begin to grow.  Therefore, it is
small wonder that our government steps into those countries
where our export base is about to be erroded by the Soviets.

Wake up and smell the coffee folks, economics is what its
all about.  I don't like the thought of being tied to this
one job, one house, one community for the rest of my life.
I kind of like being able to choose where I go.  Sitting
back and accepting Soviet style socialism would put a crimp
in my lifestyle.  It saddens me that the US has to rattle
the saber all the time, but what is the answer?  Seeing
our export markets dry up with an inevitable lowering of
our standards?  Countering the moves against our export
base with words?  Becoming the export base for the Soviets,
thus losing our markets?  Or perhaps using the same methods
used by the Soviets to subvert other nations and force them
to become our markets?  I don't know the answer, but it is
not as simple as some folks on net would have us think.
The whole Soviet/US relationship is an economic war
with the two diverse economic systems vying for the world
markets.  That shooting at one another comes into play is
just another sign of how important these world markets
have become over the past forty years.

Go ahead, make my day.

T. C. Wheeler