Word: socialistic
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Lightweight, demagogue, buffoon, windbag. At best naive, at worst dangerous. Those were among the put-downs of the newly elected president of the Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic that came sluicing anonymously out of the U.S. Government on the eve of last week's summit. The name-calling stemmed in part from memories of Boris Yeltsin's visit to Washington in September...
Often people ask where we are going, whether we are retreating from socialism or moving toward socialism. As we move along this path, our point of departure is to make good on the potential of the socialist idea. The very fact that I'm saying this is further proof that I'm a convinced socialist. I think in the questions you sent me, you were probing my ideological positions. Well, I am a communist. I'm sure that answer doesn't make you too enthusiastic, but it shouldn't make you panic either. It's quite normal...
...dramatically with the past, when former idols and heroes are overthrown, it's like a dust storm. It's difficult to see what will emerge in the end. I'm convinced that the radical changes in Central and Eastern Europe in no way signal "the collapse of socialism." Genuine socialist values will not sink into oblivion. Even in the present environment of turbulent change they assert their right to exist...
Another lesson we should have learned has to do with the fate of the socialist idea. In the 20th century socialism has gained millions of supporters. It has become a powerful factor in the ideological and political debate, contributing to social and political progress in many countries. Nowhere, however, has the socialist idea been adequately put into practice. Socialism is not an artificial model that can be imposed on society. Any attempt to make people live, so to speak, according to a timetable is not just a utopian fallacy -- it can lead to intolerance and violence...
Fourth, the 1980s marked a major watershed in the history of the Soviet Union. The logic of life confronted us with the need for profound changes in the context of our socialist choice. Hence our perestroika. For our people, progress is inconceivable without the socialist idea. Hence also the powerful tendency toward democratic change here. Hence too the new thinking in foreign policy. Changes inside the U.S.S.R. have had a profound impact on world developments; there is a new international situation, with greater prospects for a period of peace in the development of civilization and vast opportunities for a better...