To: goldworldnet who wrote (160 ) 1/2/2004 9:47:22 AM From: Neocon Respond to The only major political figure who contemplated the possibility was Ronald Reagan, though others realized that once Gorbachev began to pursue perestroika, and especially glasnost in earnest, there would be no real turning back. Even a totalitarian regime depends upon most people acquiescing, through a combination of propaganda, terror, and the simple desire to avoid chaos. Once the regime relaxes the use of terror and makes admissions that delegitimate Communist rule, all it has left is the hesitancy to fall into chaos. Nevertheless, the populace will begin to put serious pressure on the regime to accelerate the pace of reform. If the situation becomes hopeless, people will take considerable risks, through mass demonstrations or even, as in Romania, civil rebellion, to break the deadlock and permit things to move forward.
