AHC: Perestroika that works

[Rosencrantz]

So according to Naomi Klein, Gorbachev sought to move the USSR in a similar direction to the Nordic model, combining free markets with a social safety net—but while retaining public ownership of key sectors - ingredients that he believed would transform the USSR into "a socialist beacon for all mankind."

What kind of POD would make this even remotely possible?

 

[Meadow]

So according to Naomi Klein, Gorbachev sought to move the USSR in a similar direction to the Nordic model, combining free markets with a social safety net—but while retaining public ownership of key sectors - ingredients that he believed would transform the USSR into "a socialist beacon for all mankind."

What kind of POD would make this even remotely possible?

The traditional go-to is 'a mid-70s Andropov premiership leads to it starting a decade earlier'. It's not as simple as that, though.

 

[von Adler]

Oil prices remaining high, securing the Soviet state a stable income?

 

[superkuf]

So according to Naomi Klein, Gorbachev sought to move the USSR in a similar direction to the Nordic model, combining free markets with a social safety net—but while retaining public ownership of key sectors - ingredients that he believed would transform the USSR into "a socialist beacon for all mankind."

What kind of POD would make this even remotely possible?

ASB.

The Soviet Union and especially the soviets were crippled by 70 years of communism. No one in the SU knew how companies or marked worked. And I doubt that the Communist Party would accept to lose its monopoly on power, since "the Nordic model" would mean both free trade unions and democratic elections.

One slightly less ASB way would be for some reformer to succed Chrustiov that could begin small experiments with market economy (say that farmers could use a part of the collective farms and keep the surplus, provided that the collective farm delivered as much grain/pork/whatever as before) that slowly spread to other sectors.

But that is still difficult. China followed this model, but that was in the 80s when Soviet style communism clearly had failed. Our reformer would have to start without this knowledge.

 

[Dementor]

ASB.

The Soviet Union and especially the soviets were crippled by 70 years of communism. No one in the SU knew how companies or marked worked. And I doubt that the Communist Party would accept to lose its monopoly on power, since "the Nordic model" would mean both free trade unions and democratic elections.

You're calling ASB what actually happened.

 

[deathscompanion1]

You're calling ASB what actually happened.

It wasn't exactly clean OTL...

 

[LordKalvert]

If Gorbachev had correctly diagnosed the Soviet Union's problems and realized that political reforms would be a disaster he could have:

Ended the Cold War and accepted that the Soviets weren't going to push the Americans back in the world. Cut off the overextended Soviet positions. Cut back heavily on the armed forces, relying on the nuclear weapons to keep the country safe. This would have saved huge amounts of money

In Eastern Europe, he needed to cut back on the independence of the satellites states by gaining control over the various armies. This could have been done by choking off their supplies particularly oil.

Economic reforms of decentralization and restoring the price mechanism could have done wonders

Above all, don't let the political system decentralize and open up. This destruction of the Soviet Union was inevitable once that process started