the party is and where it is-headed onnits path to the worker’s paradise. ThenSoviet Communist Party has had onlynthree previous programs — in 1961,n1919, and 1905—so a new Party programnin 1986 is a major development.nWhy is there a new program now?nProbably because the 1961 program isnnow an acute embarrassment. A remarkablenexample of inbred thinkingn”The experience of the USSR and othernsocialist countries convincingly demonstratesnthe indisputable socioeconomic,npolitical, ideological, and moral advantagenof the new system as a level ofnman’s progress superior to capitalism.”n—Draft Program of the CommunistnParty of the Soviet Union, October 1985nby persons who have devoted theirncareers to a fanatic ideology, the 1961nprogram offered a blueprint for thenperfectly communist society, and thenmasters of scientific socialism confidentlynpredicted that in 1980 “a Communistnsociety will, on the whole, benbuilt in the USSR. The constructionnof Communist society will be fullyncompleted in the subsequent period.”nWhen will that be? “The Party solemnlynproclaims: the present generationnof Soviet people shall live undernCommunism.”nThe 1961 program is full of measurablengoals and timetables through thenyear 1980. Anyone attempting to assessnhow Soviet performance comparesnto Soviet promises ought to keep innmind an observance made by NikitanKhrushchev six years after his fall fromnpower: “Having lived under Stalin, Intend to think that the figures for averagenyield which you read in the pressnthese days reflect wishful thinkingnrather than reality. … I know somenof these statistical experts. They’re thensort who can melt [expletive] into bullets.”nKhrushchev’s remark makes thenstark disparity between the 1961 goalsnand the official record of economicnperformance found in authoritativenSoviet and American publications appearnever bleaker.nSteel production, an economicnbenchmark since the days of Stalin,nwas estimated in 1980 at 148 millionnmetric tons as opposed to the plannwhich called for 250 million tons.n461 CHRONICLES OF CULTUREnElectrical power output was 1,295 billionnkwh as opposed to the plan ofn2,850 billion kwh. Agricultural productionnwas only 45 percent of thengoal.nBy 1980 rent-free apartments werento be the norm, even for newlyweds,nand these apartments were to conformnwith the “highest standards of hygienenand culture.” Even in 1985 an estimatedn20 percent of Soviet urbannfamilies share their kitchens and bathroomsnwith nonrelated families. Whilencomparatively inexpensive, housing isnnot free. The problem is that housingnis unavailable. Along with free housing,nthe 1961 program called for freenpublic transportation, midday meals atnwork, and day care for children. Nonenof this has come to pass.nIn 1961, Soviet planners were confidentnthat by the end of the decade thenSoviet Union would “surpass thenstrongest and richest capitalist country,nthe U.S.A., in production per head ofnpopulation.” But in 1980, per capitanproduction in the U.S. was still twicenthat attained in the Soviet Union. ThenJapanese, Germans, French, and Britishnwere also still far ahead of thenSoviets in productivity. In agriculture,nthe Soviet plight is worse. Twentynpercent .of the Soviets aie farmers comparednto 3.5 percent of the Americans.nA Soviet farmer feeds nine people; onenAmerican farmer feeds 65 people.nSoviet authorities are hard pressednto explain (or to explain away) theirnfailures in productivity. Since the mid-n1960’s, the Soviets have spent an averagenof 30 percent of their GNP onneconomic investment, whereas thenU.S. has spent only 16 to 18 percent.nYet it is the Soviets who are fallingnbehind in economic growth: fromn1976 to 1983 the U.S. economy grewnat an annual rate of 2.8 percent whilenthe Soviet economy grew at a rate ofnonly 2.6 percent.nApologists for the Soviet Unionnhave, understandably, grown quietnabout its economic performance. Wenmust, they say, look at other indices ofna superior society. After all, medicine,nvisits to the doctor, and hospital carenare all free in the Soviet Union. Butnthese benefits prove more apparentnthan real: the Soviets annually spendnonly 34 percent of what Americans donfor health. The death rate in the SovietnUnion in 1964 was 6.9 deaths pernnn1,000 but in 1980 it was 10.3. Nonother countiy in the developed worldnhas experienced such a trend. Fifteen.nyears ago the average Soviet male livedn66 years; now the figure has dropped ton62 years. In the U.S. it is 71 years. Inn1978, 51,000 persons died in the SovietnUnion from alcoholism—100 timesnmore than in the United States.nThe Soviet infant mortality ratenstands at 31 deaths per 1,000, whereasnin the United States it is 12 per 1,000.nWorse yet, in the Soviet Union thentrend line in infant morality is goingnup. Why? Perhaps one reason is thenhigh incidence of disease due to poornnutrition and lack of medical care. Inn1979 there were 385,000 cases of measlesncompared to 14,000 in the UnitednStates. In 1979 there were 18,000ncases of typhoid, a disease virtuallyneliminated among American infants.nA Soviet study conducted in the mid-n1970’s found that 34 percent of infantnmortalities were linked to rickets. Inn1970, there were 180 abortions fornevery 1,000 women in the SovietnUnion; in 1982 the comparable Americannfigure was 47. It is estimated thatnthe average woman in the SovietnUnion submits to between five andneight abortions during her life. Undoubtedly,nthe high incidence of abortionnhas affected the infant mortalitynrate. So much for free medicine.nSince the capitalist countries of thenworld, according to the Soviets, havenbeen in decline and the Marxist countriesnin the ascendance, one mightnexpect that it would be possible fornthem to spend a bit less on the military.nThe Soviets generally spendnabout 12-14 percent of their GNP onnthe military, whereas we spend 4-6npercent. There are approximately 16nfull-time military personnel in the SovietnUnion for every 1,000 persons. Innthe U.S. the figure is nine. In fact,nMarxist countries, in general, havenmore than twice the force ratios ofnnon-Marxist countries. The 1961nParty program informs us that withn”the disappearance of class antagonismsnin the fraternal family of socialistncountries, national antagonismsndisappear.” And yet the Soviets havenover 500,000 troops along the bordernof their socialist brother, China.nMikhail Gorbachev’s newer versionnof the Party program provides few goalsnand timetables for the most part. Itn