|
|
|
| Current Issue |
|
|
| Resources |
|
|
|
The Soviet Crisis
| Article
# : |
19629 |
|
|
Section : |
EDITORIAL
|
| Issue
Date : |
10 / 1991 |
1,230 Words |
| Author
: |
Morton A. Kaplan
Editor and Publisher |
The Soviet Union has just gone through a three-day crisis that ended with the restoration of the legitimate government, the movement toward democracy, and a Union Treaty that is acceptable to most of the republics. THE WORLD & I applauds the steadfastness of the Russian and Soviet peoples and the courageous leadership of Boris Yeltsin, president of the Russian Republic. We salute George Bush and the European leaders who refused to recognize the usurpers.
Shevardnadze was there beside Boris Yeltsin while the struggle was on. If Mikhail Gorbachev is as smart as I think he is, Shevardnadze will be named either vice president or prime minister. We can only hope that now Gorbachev will resign from the utterly discredited Communist Party.
We make special note of the character of those who supported the coup, including Fidel Castro, Saddam Hussein, and the hard-line rulers of China. Their day of reckoning still lies ahead.
If the coup had succeeded, the movement toward peace and democratic world order would have suffered a major setback. This episode makes clear that we need a special institution that will encourage democracy and human rights throughout the world. George Bush has spoken of a new world order. But his new world order consists only of collective security.
A new world order involves not merely keeping the peace but the solidification of democratic and human values throughout the world. This recent crisis may have been the gravest we faced, but it will not be the last. We need a global institutional framework within which these values can be supported and implemented peacefully.
This is less a time for congratulations than it is for looking forward to the tasks that lie ahead. It is a time for faith and determination. The battles that lie ahead require sustained effort against not clearly defined foes. They require us to act in terms of the common good and not merely of individual interest.
The Case for Luck
Two of the Commentary articles in Current Issues discuss the pros and cons of state lotteries, a topic that raises both practical and philosophical issues. Our education and our myths tend to overlook the role of luck in life. That our parents met, that a particular sperm united with a particular egg cell, are matters of
...
Read Full Article
Look for this article in Ask.com
|
|
