Political Developments in the Sino-Soviet Bloc

Four basic and meaningful trends are currently developing in the Sino-Soviet bloc. A most important trend is the emergence of diversity within Communist unity. Stalinism was characterized by political and ideological uniformity, centralization, and homogeneity. Today, a far more complicated pattern of relations prevails. A second trend, related to the first, is the weakening of ideological unity and the decline of ideological zeal within the Communist bloc. A third trend involves the energetic development of the economic and political integration of the Sino-Soviet bloc. The Soviet Union remains an autarchic economy. Otherwise, efforts are being made to develop specialization in the economic development and production of the various Communist countries. This division of labor contributes to greater interdependence. The Asian states, to date, are not part of this joint economic enterprise. The fourth trend is a general sense of historical momentum reinforced, on dubious intellectual grounds, by Soviet technological, especially space, advances. The West should avoid premature and rash actions of either a provocative or an unnecessarily compromising character. Beyond that, it is in the Western interest to promote stability among those Communist elites already inclined toward moderation and greater radicalism among those which are more militant.