IMAGINE that a socialist government has just come to power in the United States. Although people are still celebrating in the streets, workers are already beginning to run the factories, neighborhood groups are planning new housing and day-care centers, new schools and hospitals are springing up. The Revolutionary Council begins to turn its attention to foreign affairs.

What would the foreign policy of a Socialist America be like? The question is breathtaking: The United States has threatened world peace and supported reactionary governments for so long that it is hard to contemplate this country as a force for justice. But a Socialist America is possible, and it is healthy to dream once in a while.

The following is an imaginary scenario of the possible:

WASHINGTON--The Revolutionary Council today passed a $30 billion foreign aid bill, ten times what the previous regime had allotted. The money, none of which is in the form of loans, will be sent with no strings attached to progressive Third World governments. Previous U.S. aid was often given with the provision that it be spent on high priced United States products. A Council representative from Ohio explained, "This aid is not a gift or payment for future favors. It is but a tiny part--a first installment--of what we owe the rest of the world, and it is returned in a spirit of brotherhood.

Meanwhile, the Socialist Corps announced that 4000 more people had volunteered for service in other countries. The volunteers--farmers, doctors, teachers, skilled workers--will be entirely under the supervision of Third World Governments.

HANOI, North Vietnam--A united column of American and North Vietnamese troops pushed deep into South Vietnam today, encountering almost no resistance from the crumbling Thieu government. The column, commanded personally by North Vietnamese Defense Minister Vo Nguyen Giap, reported that South Vietnamese troops were deserting in droves and welcoming the liberation forces.

American construction crews continued repairing bridges and roads in North Vietnam. Premier Pham Van Dong spoke today at a brief ceremony marking the completion of the rebuilt Bach Mai Hospital. The joint American Vietnamese construction crew heard Premier Dong say, "The bonds of friendship between the people of Vietnam and the people of America--never severed even during the darkest hours of the past war--are strengthened once again." After the ceremony, the construction workers retired for a game of baseball. "They're great people, but they still can't hit a curve ball as good as a guy from Chicago," explained Joe Zucharelli, one of the workers.

SANTIAGO, Chile--Cuban and American paratroops landed here today, linking up with revolutionary Chileans and toppling the military dictatorship. The Chilean military, crippled by last month's cut-off of American arms, offered little resistance.

The American Revolutionary Council immediately recognized a provisional revolutionary government and announced it would provide aid.

The streets of Santiago were filled with throngs of demonstrators who carried posters of former President Salvador Allende. People greeted each other as companeros, a word that had been outlawed by the military.

CAPETOWN, South Africa--The American Sixth Fleet patrolled menacingly offshore today, while its commanders awaited instructions from Washington. Only 24 hours remain before the Revolutionary Council's ultimatum to the South African government expires.

The ultimatum, issued last week, calls on South Africa to enfranchise blacks, abolish apartheid, and hold a new constitutional convention. There has been no official response, but rebellions have reportedly broken out in several places and the country is in turmoil. U.S. Marines are ready to land. One of them, Rodney Jones of Buffalo, said today, "I'm ready. South Africa's kind of racism has no place in a civilized world, and we are going to end it."

Reports from the Portuguese colonies of Mozambique and Angola, just north of South Africa, indicate that the American aid boycott to Portugal has crippled the colonial forces, and black liberation armies are gaining control over wide swaths of territory.

BRUSSELS, Belgium--American representatives met here today with representatives of six European countries and announced that the United States will immediately turn over its economic interests in Europe if a set of conditions are met by the Europeans. The conditions include workers control in factories and an end to European support for colonial or neo-colonial efforts in the Third World.

FRANKFORT, West Germany--American armies have started massing along what was once known as the Iron Curtain as the Revolutionary Council continued to issue stern warnings to Soviet satellites in Eastern Europe calling for immediate reforms. "You have betrayed socialism," read the latest warning, sent to the Polish government. "Begin taking steps toward economic political democracy or face the consequences." Uprisings were already reported in Czechoslovakia and Bulgaria.