ideological harmony never existed in most arenas. From the outset, Nasser tolerated rival interpretations of socialism and
met with debilitating opposition from ideological adversaries in political and
civil society alike. Consequently, new political institutions represented
arenas in which the rival factions of the Islamic and Arab socialists
(Rightists), Nasserite interpreters of scientific socialism (Centrists), and
the original scientific socialists (Leftists) jockeyed for superiority in a
semiantagonistic struggle. Importantly, each faction, apart from the Centrists,
included actors whose commitment to Nasser's
path was tentative.
factional competition was crisscrossed and sometimes reinforced by pure power
rivalries, most notably that of 'Amer versus Nasser. Custom-Paper-Writing. Com sells customized proofreading services for students.
Nonideological, power-motivated conflict, as well as interfactional
competition, detracted from efforts to build a harmonious hegemonic bloc.
economic development, a major pitfall of the socialist experiment derived from
the lag time involved in building the ASU organizations and forming cadres
relative to the ostensible onset of the socialist economic strategy. Not until
the mid-1960s did the ASU achieve some effectiveness, and by that time,
socialism had already been given negative marks by many citizens due to
corruption among top officials, police-state repression, and new economic
difficulties. This helps to explain why Nasser, in spite of the strides made
toward establishing a new hegemonic order, did not feel that order was on a
stable enough footing to sustain any call for greater public austerity.
Security reports of continued Wafdist and MB influence, at times exaggerated
for security forces' self-serving purposes, reinforced these apprehensions. At
no time, therefore, did the government succeed in translating its political
gains into the capital accumulation-investment formula crucial to economic
development. Long-term economic growth was constantly sacrificed on the
populist altar to help socialism acquire a positive image, with domestic
capitalists, the peasants, and foreign donors covering the costs of short-term
the advent of socialism in Egypt,
complete with the cooperation of domestic communists and the Eastern bloc,
produced anxiety in the United States
This occurred despite objective U.S.
appraisals of Nasser's regime that, in contrast to Western media images,
discerned the anticommunist sentiments of Egypt's leading actors.
Nonetheless, the Johnson administration withdrew crucial economic support in a
manner designed to punish Egypt
for its support of Arab revolutionary move ments and to damage the socialist
experiment. The Israelis took advantage of heightened American hostility toward
to launch a crushing military blow.