World Communism at the Crossroads : Military Ascendancy, Political Economy, and Human Welfare

The collection of essays presented in this volume grew out of a series of lec­ tures given at the University of North Carolina during the academic year 1976-1977. The series was sponsored by the Soviet and East European Stud­ ies Program, which I chaired at the time, and the Curriculum of Peace, War and Defense, headed by James Leutze. In the ensuing years almost all the manuscripts have been redrafted at frequent intervals to reflect the changing state of knowledge in each respective discipline. The final version of the text that appears here is therefore the outcome of a long developmen­ tal process. It is up to date and embodies our individual views on world communism at the present juncture. Although the recent Soviet invasion of Afghanistan occurred shortly after this volume was completed, that event has not impaired the book's timeliness. The findings of Rosefielde, Lee, Valenta, and Leutze all point toward a resurgence of Soviet expansionism, and Parker explicitly predicted the Afghan invasion in the first draft of his essay, June 1978 (see p. 32). Front Matter....Pages i-xiii Introduction....Pages 1-6 Front Matter....Pages 7-7 Soviet Military Objectives and Capabilities in the 1980s....Pages 9-35 Real Soviet Arms Procurement Expenditures, 1960–1978....Pages 36-54 Soviet Nuclear Targeting Strategy and Salt....Pages 55-88 The Soviet-Cuban Intervention in Angola....Pages 89-105 A New Strategy for NATO....Pages 106-127 Front Matter....Pages 129-129 Industrial Structure, Urbanization, and Socialist Growth Strategy....Pages 131-159 The Impact of International Inflation on Yugoslavia....Pages 160-180 The Evolution of Agricultural Technology in the People’s Republic of China, 1957–1976....Pages 181-209 Political Leadership and Personnel Policy in Romania....Pages 210-233 Front Matter....Pages 235-235 Kantorovich and Production Planning....Pages 237-259 The Theory and Practice of Self-Management....Pages 260-272 Decentralized Economic Control in the Soviet Union and Maoist China....Pages 273-304 Morality and Pragmatism in the Superpower Relationship....Pages 305-320 Closing Observations....Pages 321-323 Back Matter....Pages 325-334