Communism is terminally ill: as an ideology and as a political and economic system it has no future. Yet it is still kicking. The Soviet Union's ability and desire to expand are still enormous, and the death throes of its empire will last at least several decades, if not a whole century. Moreover, the temptation in many Third-World countries is to believe that the five-pointed red star offers a quick way out of poverty, oppression and despair.