improve and how to integrate them. The basic system 

 of economic planning and management is oriented to- 

 ward the expansion of production and today's technol- 

 ogy, while the supplementary system is concerned with 

 the planning and management of R&D toward the tech- 

 nology of tomorrow. For the most part, the target of 

 attention and action has been the supplementary sys- 

 tem. This prompts Vaag to exclaim, "We must think of 

 improvements in the basic system and must not confine 

 ourselves to improving supplementary systems for the 

 stimulation of S&T progress." 82 



At issue is largely the role and future of the 

 supplementary system. On one side are those who ques- 

 tion the need to improve and to preserve this second- 

 ary line of influence. For them the central issue is 

 making the basic system work for science and technol- 

 ogy. If the economy as a whole is not altered to in- 

 spire and promote technological innovation, then im- 

 provements in the supplementary system, no matter 

 what, will be of no avail. If the fundamental work- 

 ings of the economy can be so modified, then a sup- 

 plementary set of S&T mechanisms will be unnecessary. 

 On the other side, there are some who focus almost 

 exclusively on improving the latter machinery. They 

 tend to inflate its role in and potential for accel- 

 erating S&T progress while downplaying the need for 

 general system reorientation and change. 



A middle position on this issue is held by Profes- 

 sor Popov of Moscow University. His views also prob- 

 ably represent the majority opinion among the Soviet 

 ruling group at this time. Given the complexity of 

 science and technology under modern conditions, Popov 

 contends that it is necessary to retain, even in the 

 future, two channels of influence. In describing the 

 specific task of the supplementary system, he draws 

 an analogy with modern aviation. Just as some ad- 

 vanced aircraft require an initial booster engine in 

 order to accelerate to a certain level before the 

 main engines cut in and take over flight control, so 

 a modern economy needs a supplementary booster sup- 

 port system for the development and acceleration of 



286 



