‘Rex destruens’: An interpretative essay

Abstract

The collapse of the Soviet system and Gorbachev's historical contribution is a constant subject of interpretation and debate. The image of a ‘rex destruens’ may be an appropriate way of interpreting his role. That role may derive from his misinterpretation of the Soviet Union's proper place in the world. At a time when Western Europe had accommodated itself to some of the positive aspects of Soviet ‘socialism’, particularly the notion of state provision of welfare and the country's role in the defeat of fascism, and was itself becoming a powerful economic actor, after years on the defensive capitalism found itself the target of Gorbachev's keen interest. Moreover, the experience of a bipolar global strategy over four decades led Gorbachev to seek accommodation with the United States, rather than pursuing the notion of a ‘common European home’. Instead of contributing to the political evolution of European values, Gorbachev's Soviet Union adopted the ideology of mass consumption capitalism sponsored worldwide by the United States. It thereby dashed the hopes of generations of those who had sought a humane alternative to that ideology. It is far from clear that post‐Soviet Russia has successfully escaped from its old ideology or wholeheartedly embraced its new one.