Could the USSR have done a Dengist-style reform?
I see conflicting arguments about the matter.
It's about at least every quarter-year or so that I ask some kind of question about how the USSR could have gone differently in some way.
probably not, Dengism began in the context of the Sino-Soviet split, investment and cooperation with the PRC was seen as countering Soviet power. simply doing market-reforms without attracting foreign investment wasn't going to replicate the success of the PRC, and there was no reason for an economic normalisation with the USSR from the US perspective, unless someone else became more threatening (China?, lol)
The problem was that the USSR on the US hitlist, while both China and Vietnam could mislead the US into believing they were sorta aligned to it.
Vietnam
They had a chance? Weren't they aligned with USSR, especially during the Sino-Soviet split? They would've treated the damn nation like MPLA Angola, at best (fund any economic, military, and media measures of sabatoging, if not destroying any post-reconstruction efforts)
And they've already done worse so, as we've seen before, post-first war of independence, up to the end of the Soviet Union (sanctions, direct intervention via troops et mass bombing, anti-govt propaganda)
Geopolitics aside, China's location and densely populated coastline made it an ideal commercial shipping hub whereas the USSR/Russia's cross country logistics and sea routes are very cumbersome and awkward. China also had a massive spare labor force.
No such thing as a "Dengist."
Just Marxist-Leninist.
SWCC was concieved with the learning experience from the USSR's failure. One had to fail first so the other would learn from its mistakes.
No. The USSR was enemy number 1 of the capitalist global elites. And it did its job very well. We needed it to be that. Yes it eventually fell but in the decades it did exist it did the important work of countering US hegemony, and preparing the global south for the conflict we are facing now. Without the USSR the world would look so much different today. China wouldnt exist in its current form, the DPRK wouldnt exist, etc.
Socialism with Chinese Characteristics was not just an economic plan to increase foreign investment. Yes it did that but it also made the US largely leave China alone. Now the US hates China because its realized its mistake but for a long time it ignored China. Assumed China was going to come around and go full neolib. It didnt. It never intended to. China just needed time. The USSR got it off the ground and SWCC bought it the time it needed to get ready to face the US.
The torch was passed from the USSR to China, and now China along with other nations opposed to the US carry on the legacy of resistance left by the USSR. Back after WW2 only the USSR had the means to do that. Even if it had successfully convinced America to back off by pretending to be open to markets the rest of the world would have suffered for the lack of intervenion by the USSR. America would have been able to use the post-ww2 chaos to entrench itself globally and turn pretty much every global south nation into a puppet. Imagine a world where China was just like Japan. (Barf). Thats what itd be like.
So in short. The fall of the USSR was a tragedy yes, but despite its fall the effect it had on the world was immense and at a time where it was very much needed. The USSR took a bullet for all of us, and gave the world a fighting chance. Without its sacrifice we would be looking at maybe an extra 200-500 years of US Empire domination of the world.
No they will probably reach a certain stagnation point like Brazil