Perestroika Party Plenum of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union, January 1987 From: http://www.artnet.net/~upstart/perestro.html Perestroika is the decisive defeat of the processes of stagnation, the destruction of the braking mechanism, the creation of a reliable and effective mechanism for increasing the pace of the social-economic development of society. The main idea of our strategy is to unite the achievements of the scientific-technical revolution with a planned economy and to bring into action the entire potential of socialism. Perestroika is the buttress for the vital creativity of the masses; it is the all-sided development of democracy and socialist self-direction, the encouragement of initiative and independence, the strengthening of discipline and order, the widening of glasnost, criticism and self-criticism in all spheres of social life; it is a greatly heightened respect for the value and worth of the individual. Perestroika is the steady elevation of the role of intensive factors in the development of the Soviet economy, the reestablishment and development of the Leninist principles of democratic centralism in the direction of the national economy, universal introduction of economic methods of management, rejection of administration by command, assuring the transfer of all levels of the economy to the principles of complete financial self- sufficiency and new forms of the organization of labor and production, the utmost support for innovation and socialist enterprise. Perestroika is a decisive turn to science, a businesslike partnership of practice with science in order to achieve optimal final results, the ability to place any initiative on a firm scientific basis, the readiness and fervent desire of scientists to actively support the course of the Party for renewing society; at the same time, it is concern about the development of science, the growth of its cadres, and its active participation in the process of reform. Perestroika is a priority on the development of the social sphere, a more complete satisfaction of the demands of the Soviet people for good working conditions, everyday life, rest, education, and medical services; it is a constant concern for the spiritual wealth and culture of every individual and of society in general; it is the ability to combine the solution of wide-ranging, cardinal problems of society with the solution of on-going questions of concern to people. Perestroika is the energetic liberation of society from the distortions of socialist morality, the consistent realization of the principles of social justice; it is the unity of word and deed, of rights and responsibilities; it is the elevation of honest, high-quality labor, and overcoming the equalizing tendencies in terms of pay and consumer items. The final goal of perestroika, it seems is clear: a profound renewal of all aspects of the nation's life, imparting to socialism the most contemporary forms of social organizations, and the most complete disclosure of the humanitarian character of our society in all its decisive aspects--economic, social-political, and moral.