Opi nion
Page 6
The Michigan Daily
Vol. XCI, No. 56-S
Ninety Years of Editorial Freedom
Edited and managed by students
at the University of Michigan
Polish power
T WOULD BE against Soviet interests to
invade Poland.
Given this fundamental truth, the extraor-
dinarily ambitious protests taking place this
week in Warsaw can be better understood.
Ever since the Solidarity labor union was
established a year ago, the workers of Poland
have bravely expressed their dissatisfaction
with their central government in paced, well-
orchestrated protests. Realizing that the
Kremlin would intervene under only the most
desperate circumstances, the protests and the
labor movement in general have proceeded
with unprecedented success.
The Soviet Union, already quagmired on the
Afghanistan front, and with its own financial
troubles, would like nothing less than a move
into Poland. Helpless in an increasingly inter-
dependent world order, the Russian leaders
obviously understand that the costs of in-
vading Poland are prohibitive.
So the protests continue, in a twisted sort of
carnival atmosphere. The Polish leaders have
more breathing room than most perceive, but
their failure to improve the country's
economic condition cannot continue in-
definitely. If and when the peaceful protests
become violent, it will be the frustrated
workers who start the trouble, not the Soviet
army, and by then it will be too late for anyone
to suppress.
I HEAR IT'S LETTING UP A LITTLE
Thursday, August 6, 1981
The Michigan Daily
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Wailing for
credibility and self-respect left to
By Steve Hook face their constituents during the
long August recess-polarize to
the left, the imperious
The Democrats cower in the Republicans smugly hold tight
Year of the Republican. The and even ponder deeper gouges in
liberals cringe as the conser- the country's liberal tradition. The
vatives stampede. economic foundation has been
For all of his faults, President laid, now is the time for the real
Reagan sure has clarified our bloodletting-the social issues.
hazy perceptions of the world. In a perverse way, the
Before we were told that there unqualified stomping that the
are only two sides in the Reagan boys have enjoyed may
geopolitical struggle, East and be the best thing for their loyal
West, it all seemed like a discon- opposition. The Republicans have
nected and haphazard affair. nurtured their supposed man-
Now that it is understood as a We date, and with the skillful and
versus They conflict, it all street-wise guidance of the gip-
kind of makes sense. Sort of. per himself, the GOP has seen its
Never before (in my short supple-side concepts materialize
lifetime) have the issues of into law. For the right-wingers
domestic politics been so plain currently basking in the sun, it
and simple. It is big government will be sink-or-swim from now on.
or small government, in most There will be no "The Democrats
areas. Small government or no spoiled our chances" when 1984
government in others. It never rolls around. If the economy
seemed this easy before. remains in disarray, the mandate
While this process of sim- will be literally handed back to
plification has been going on-a the liberals. The experiment will
process that deserves as much have tried and failed, and the
reverence as the glut of self- GOP will have nothing to say.
destructive Washington oddities And it doesn't takea masters in
that beckon the media-it has economics to see the obstacles
been amusing to watch ahead on the road to prosperity.
everybody take sides. Suddenly, Supply-side economics may be a
we're making stands on issues we plausable approach per se, but it
hardly knew about a year does not incorporate a defense
ago-states' rights and block budget that erases much of the
grants, depreciation allowances progress made on spending cuts.
and bracket creep, the virtues of And the tax cuts, rather than
CETA and subsidized housing, initiating a new "psychology" of
the evils of totalitarian regimes investment and savings, may
and the Cuban connection. Such only cause a short-term rash of
are the side-effects of an spending and a continued in-
ideological steamroll. flationary assault.
As the Democrats in By 1984, the administration's
Washington-with barely enough foreign policy may be shred of all
its macho presumptions, and its
form-over-substance appraoch
may be hopelessly vulnerable.
Barring any unforeseen progress
in arms control, NATO con-
tinuity, or Third World relations,
the Democrats should inherit a
wealth of podium-stomping
material.
Rarely considered by political
analysts is the social effect of
Reaganomics-the profound
dislocation of our institutions. We
are all guinea pigs in a nation-
wide experiment, and the curren-
tly positive morale is clearly
dependent on better days ahead.
For everyone who has been effec-
ted by the sweeping reformation
of the private sector and the
snubbing of the public, their per-
sonal viability will mirror that of
the conservative ideology. If the
social upheaval proves unworthy
in light of continued domestic
recession, well, it will be the
Democrats turn once again.
For now, we can reflect on the
recent weeks of Conservative
Conquest with some comfort. As
citizens-recipients of the
manic federal policies-we win
either way. If the supply-side,
East versus West approach
somehow succeeds in enhancing
domestic and international
stability, so much the better. If it
fails, which it probably will, the
political pendulum will swing
back, to the left, and it will be the
Republicans, not the Demorats,
who will be terminally defensive.
Steve Hook is the Daily's
editorial director.
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