Because of the wretched living conditions and the destabilizing discontent that those conditions might generate, the survival of a socialist government requires that citizens remain uninformed or misinformed about the ruling régime's failures as well as conditions in relatively free societies. News of setbacks, ranging from minor crises to major disasters such as Chernobyl, must be suppressed as far as possible. Projects that involve high risk, such as space launches, are typically not reported publicly unless and until success is assured. Moreover, accurate information about conditions in freer countries must be censored; in particular, access to foreign information sources such as personal correspondence, publications, broadcasts, and the Internet must be tightly controlled. Unauthorized public discussion of even the general principles of freedom (as presented in this course, for example) might foment rebellion and therefore cannot be tolerated. Any open acknowledgment of the disparity between negative conditions in the socialist society and the relative prosperity and freedom enjoyed by inhabitants of other countries would lead to the widespread recognition that the people could improve their circumstances by overthrowing the government. Indeed, the new, less stringent Soviet policy of glasnost' ("openness") played a major role in toppling the régime. Monolithic propaganda machines, such as those developed in Communist and fascist countries and widely assumed to be unique to those régimes, are in fact an inherent requirement of any fully socialist government that is to survive in the long run.