But its fundamentals, however inadequate they may appear at this moment, were built to compete with and rival the capitalist West. This important factor is now being given considerably more attention by the imperialist monopolies than in the days immediately following Gorbachev's usurpation of the power of the Soviet workers' state. Thus the USSR is not an area ripe for imperialist colonization economically, either from the point of view of exports or imports. It doesn't present the great attraction of countries of the Third World from the viewpoint of the extraction of superprofits on the basis of super-exploitation. The current political apathy of the working class in the Soviet Union is bound to crumble under the influence of the continued adverse economic conditions resulting from the dismantling and outright vandalism and robbery of state property now being stolen from the workers by the bourgeoisie.
Revolutionary ferment is most likely to overtake the current apathy.
Gorbachev and his new bourgeois grouping will stimulate and revive the revolutionary elements in Soviet society precisely because his restructuring is bringing on social and economic adversity as severe as that imposed by any ruling bourgeoisie in a capitalist country. The present passivity and ambivalence of the working class flows from the fact that some socialist achievements like low prices and guaranteed jobs do still remain and the Gorbachev regime still retains an ambiguous attitude toward them. But this cannot continue for long. Disillusionment with the Soviet CP will give way to revolutionary socialist reawakening of class consciousness. In fact, it may already be well on its way even now.