Soviet Union From A Utopian Society - 1704 Words

Utopia is a state that a nation can only hope to achieve. A perfect society is virtually impossible to attain, but some countries still strive to reach that standard of living. After the failed attempts at implementing Communism by previous leaders, Mikhail Gorbachev did not dismantle the communist system but rather tried to make it work. Through Perestroika, Gorbachev sought to improve the Soviet Union to match the level of Western civilizations; however, despite Gorbachev’s aspiration to achieve the ideal society that Western communities displayed, the rapid and radical means of advancing the Soviet Union to this level led to the quick collapse of the reform. From the corruption of government officials to the shortcomings of job†¦show more content†¦In Peter J. Boettke’s article Why Perestroika Failed, he addressed six propositions that potentially contributed to the collapse of Perestroika. Of the six propositions Boettke addressed, the first two proposition s support the idea that the illusion created in regards to Russia’s economy, and overall Russian society, were direct causes for the failure of the reform. The first proposition that â€Å"Soviet economic strength was an illusion† looks to give an explanation to Russia’s seemingly sound economy (Boettke 3). The Soviet Union depicted its economy as an economy with the ability to sustain itself alongside other Western societies, in particular, America. When Ronald Raegan’s military build-up during that time pressured the Soviet Union to bolster its military capabilities, the already suffering economy was burdened even more. Majority of its failure due to the lack of effective structure, the Soviet economy was predicted to fail well before the added strain of military advancement. The structure was flawed, allowing few to manipulate the system for their own gain and leaving the rest in a state of discontent, although everyone generally suffered. Despite the Soviet Union’s inability to keep up economically, the country was still able to produce â€Å"†¦ newly built shopping centers and restaurants catering to the ‘new Russians’ and expatriates [that]