After greeting his visitors from TIME, Mikhail Gorbachev observed that since he had already prepared written answers to a list of questions submitted in advance, "there's really no need to waste any more time or paper." He gave a hearty laugh, then invited the group to join him at a small oval conference table in the corner of his office and, without ceremony, launched into the subject that is most on his mind these days -- the domestic economy.
I've just come from a meeting of the Presidential Council. We were discussing radical measures for the reform of our economy. At this point we need only a short period of time, a few months, to take some important steps that, in essence, will mean the transition to a regulated market economy. In Russian that word, regulated, is difficult to pronounce. It's even more difficult to accomplish.
In many countries the development of a full-fledged market economy has taken centuries. For us the next year or two will be the most intensive stage of the transition. Shortly, Prime Minister Ryzhkov will report to the Supreme Soviet on the basis of the discussion and analysis that we've just had in the Presidential Council.
To put it briefly, what we're talking about is a shift in direction comparable in magnitude to the October Revolution, because we will be replacing one economic and political model with another.
Often people ask where we are going, whether we are retreating from socialism or moving toward socialism. As we move along this path, our point of departure is to make good on the potential of the socialist idea. The very fact that I'm saying this is further proof that I'm a convinced socialist. I think in the questions you sent me, you were probing my ideological positions. Well, I am a communist. I'm sure that answer doesn't make you too enthusiastic, but it shouldn't make you panic either. It's quite normal.
Q. You compare your economic reform to the October Revolution. The revolution came as a great shock to your society.
A. This will be a shock. But not a Polish one.
^ We have given careful thought about which way to go. One alternative was shock therapy. Instead we have decided to proceed radically, but on the basis of the special characteristics of our economy. Most Western economists believe we're doing the right thing. We can't just follow someone else's model automatically. There was a time when we tried to impose our model on others. It would be a disaster if we just borrowed blindly another country's model. That's why we think we should take a radical path but without shocks.
Q. But you said you were going to accomplish all this in a year or two.
A. That's for the transition. It will take one or two years to introduce the market mechanisms and the infrastructure. But then it will take a long time to develop a real market economy. First we have to adopt and implement various laws on taxes, enterprise, antitrust, credit, finance and social protection -- the safety net -- all within the context of a market economy.
Q. And private property?