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Unlike the Western countries that were moving in various directions, the Soviet Union focused its future in science and technology on government decisions.
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(I haven’t finished reading it yet, but I want to read it properly later.)
While acknowledging the importance of strong political leadership, the new program emphasized the need to base policy-making on a wide range of scientific knowledge.
Khrushchev consistently called for long-term forecasts, and some of the ambitious goals outlined in the 1961 program were based on projections from academic research organizations that were invited to contribute to a twenty-year scientific and technological forecast. However, some of these projections were speculative and not well-founded.
The 1961 Party program argued that capitalism monopolized the benefits of progress for profit accumulation, leading to social unrest. In contrast, socialism would use the achievements of science, technology, and research for the benefit of society, aiming to build an ideal communist society. However, by embracing this approach, the Soviet Union also embarked on a path of technological and technocratic progress similar to that of the Western countries.