Chapter 26 The Inevitability of History
Remember【】in a second, providing you with wonderful novels to read.
If it weren't for his studies at Leningrad University and the economic experience he had accumulated over the years, Sergei would not have understood the pertinence of Yakovlev's and Gorbachev's discussions. Since the end of the Second World War, Keynesianism has gradually become a magic weapon for various capitalist countries in Western Europe to promote economic development. In Britain, the influence of Keynesianism is particularly prominent. After World War II, Prime Minister Winston Churchill, who led Britain to defeat the Nazis, was ousted from office, and Labor Party leader Attlee became the first prime minister after the war. Although Churchill led the Conservative Party to make a comeback afterwards, it still could not stop the long-term trend of the Labor Party in power. It was against this special historical background that Keynesianism came onto the stage of history.
The post-war Soviet Union and Europe are almost all facing the same problem. There are ruins everywhere, and the huge wealth before the war has been wiped out in the war. In this case, relying on Adam Smith's liberal economy can no longer solve practical problems. Therefore, under the guidance of Keynesianism, the government began to intervene in economic operations, nationalized large-scale industrial enterprises and banks, and increased workers' wages and benefits. We have worked together to rebuild Europe from the ashes. Although the policy implemented by the Soviet Union at that time was called Stalinism, the two doctrines were the same in terms of nationalization. In fact, not only in Europe, but in Asia, Japan, South Korea and China are all carrying out nationalization with their own characteristics. Nationalization in Japan started before the end of the war, South Korea started under Park Chung-hee, and China called public-private partnerships. It has to be said that it is a historical necessity that the Eastern and Western camps on both sides of the Iron Curtain chose similar reform paths in a similar historical period.
However, after entering the 1980s, the economies of the world's major industrial countries have all fallen into stagnation and recession, only Japan is an exception. Anyone with a discerning eye can see that Keynesianism has come to an end, and new methods must be found to solve the problems faced in economic life. Under such circumstances, governments of various countries have begun their own explorations. This seems to be a historical necessity. Just a few years ago, China proposed reform and opening up. The Thatcher government also embarked on the road of privatization reforms, the French Mitterrand government adjusted its policy to a path similar to that of the United Kingdom a few years ago, and the Soviet Union has been emphasizing since Brezhnev in his later years The question of reform. However, judging from the current stage, the Iron Lady of the United Kingdom seems to have pointed out a clear path for everyone. Although the economy of the United Kingdom is still at the bottom among major industrial countries, it must be considered that this country spent a lot of money in a big battle with Argentina last year. From a practical point of view, the British reform has begun to show positive results.
In the room, Gorbachev and Yakovlev were discussing enthusiastically, while Seryozha listened quietly without saying a word. Sergey admitted that most of Yakovlev's views are correct, but reforms are not just a matter of words. Thatcher can cancel the milk for primary school students in order to save the government's budget. Gorbachev Don't dare to cancel similar benefits for workers.
"Seryozha, what do you think?" Gorbachev asked him curiously seeing that Seryozha remained silent.
"Secretary Gorbachev,
The issues you are talking about are too complicated for me. I am not very clear about these economic theories, but if I talk about the work of our Ministry of Foreign Trade, I would like to say that our current export commodities are too It is single, and most of it is resources and raw materials, which are easily affected by the prices of bulk commodities in the international market! ” Seryozha reported to Gorbachev.
"Not bad! Seryozha has grown up now!" Yakovlev praised Gorbachev face to face. After all, Seryozha was introduced by Yakovlev. The better he does, the more capable he is. Explain Yakovlev's vision at the beginning.
For the other party's praise, Serezha naturally had to shirk, but he realized a problem. In the conversation between the three of them today, he heard a lot of remarks that were not suitable for public expression. Does this mean that Seryozha has entered the deeper circle of Gorbachev's staff?
"Comrade Seryozha, you worked in the Ministry of Agriculture some time ago. I want to know what you think of our agriculture! You must know that I have always been in charge of this area. If there are any good ideas, we will It can be practiced!" Gorbachev was obviously dissatisfied with Seryozha's answer, and he wanted a deeper and more effective answer.
"Secretary, in fact, when I was the director of the Grain Bureau, I also planned to start a career, but you know that we are facing a very real problem, that is, the problem of labor. In my opinion, this is what restricts our agriculture. The biggest difficulty in development! If we can transfer some young and strong from... But in fact, it is not just Afghanistan, there are a large number of Soviet troops in Eastern European countries, and there are millions of soldiers on the Sino-Soviet border. You must know that the population of the Soviet Union is almost the most sparsely populated country in the world compared to its land, but there are a lot of them. Young people with working ability are sent to the front line, how can the domestic production and construction be good. During the Stalin period, it only took half a year to build a large steel factory from scratch, but now it takes a year to build several apartment buildings in Moscow, which is enough to show how seriously the domestic labor shortage has damaged the normal construction speed.
"Seryozha, I'm afraid this won't be reversed in a while!" Gorbachev shook his head and sighed.
"General Secretary, we can import frozen meat and grains from American countries, but ordinary people are not satisfied with just eating these things! We also lack vegetables, fruits and other fresh food. You should know that these can only be obtained from our neighboring countries Importing, even if we have sufficient labor force, we cannot produce enough fruits and vegetables to ensure the supply of ordinary people due to climate and other reasons! If possible, can we communicate with our neighboring countries to solve our problem? Difficulties in this area?" Sergey asked cryptically, he was actually hinting to Gorbachev whether it is possible to trade some fresh products with China, such as some fruits and vegetables, which cannot be fresh unless transported by air Some were sent from South America to the mainland of the Soviet Union.
"Are you talking about China? How about it, Sergey! An American guest is going to visit the Kremlin next week. I think he may have a solution to our problem!" Gorbachev said mysteriously. Mobile phone users please browse and read for a better reading experience.