Could the Soviet Union and the rest of Warsaw pact undergo China style reforms

Could the Soviet Union and the rest of Warsaw pact undergo Chinese style economic reforms while maintaining authoritarian forms of government and the rule of the Communist parties
 

kernals12

Banned
China in 1978 was a dismally poor nation with a GDP per capita that was 5% of the American level. The Warsaw Pact nations were between 30 and 60 percent, a level China still has not attained. So, reforms would've had a far less dramatic impact.
inklaar25janfig2.png
 
Could the Soviet Union and the rest of Warsaw pact undergo Chinese style economic reforms while maintaining authoritarian forms of government and the rule of the Communist parties
Why not? They economy is better then it was in 90-ties. What they need is political will of old commies in power to change the way.
 
Why not? They economy is better then it was in 90-ties. What they need is political will of old commies in power to change the way.

As you may notice the commies remained in power mostly in the backward states (including the former Soviet republics). Isn't it indicative of the fact that the people also have some say in the issue?
 
Some of the Warsaw Pact states could try. Others could not, for their own reasons. And definitely not the USSR - that would "fart pyrotechnics", as @Sam R. so colorfully illustrated.
 
As you may notice the commies remained in power mostly in the backward states (including the former Soviet republics). Isn't it indicative of the fact that the people also have some say in the issue?
Well commies stay in power in one form or another almost everywhere.
 
Could the Soviet Union and the rest of Warsaw pact undergo Chinese style economic reforms while maintaining authoritarian forms of government and the rule of the Communist parties

In general terms? Yes. Though they needed to reform their system to enact the reforms. (For example, an anti-corruption drive and a purge of the Communist Party.)

In specific terms? No. The Chinese reforms were for a much simpler economy with different foreign pressures and opportunities and a different internal situation.

For example, there's no way the US would let the USSR join the WTO - they didn't even let Russia join. And certainly, the US would be much more leery about allowing technology to spread to the USSR. Further, much of the initial success of the Chinese economic reforms were because of successful agricultural reforms, which meant the largest sector of the economy had a burst of growth. In the USSR, agriculture was no-where near as large a part of the economy.

I could go on. The USSR was not and could never be China. But a well a managed transition to different modes of economic organization is possible.

China in 1978 was a dismally poor nation with a GDP per capita that was 5% of the American level. The Warsaw Pact nations were between 30 and 60 percent, a level China still has not attained. So, reforms would've had a far less dramatic impact.
inklaar25janfig2.png

I love this graph.

fasquardon
 
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