Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Reparations and capitalist progress.

[Jim Devine <jdevine@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

At 07:35 AM 02/13/2000 -0800, you wrote:

> > Or that the USSR developed rapidly, was then wiped out during WWII, rebuilt
> > again.
>
> Nah. Not consistent with the post-WWII relative growth of Germany and the
> USSR, or West and East Germany, or Japan and the USSR. Can't call the
> USSR's post-WWII recovery "fast" by comparison with the recovery of the
> defeated axis powers...

this is not a good comparison. After all, the former axis powers were aided
by the US (except E. Germany) in order to set up show-places to make the
Good Guys look Good in the battle against the Bad Guys. It's true that the
USSR looted E. Germany, but I have a hard time understanding how that could
fully compensate for the damage that the Nazis did.

It's also a poor comparison because of the generally high level of
technical and other education in W. Europe (including E. Germany) and Japan
compared to the USSR immediately after WW2.

Apples and oranges...

Jim Devine jdevine@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx &
http://clawww.lmu.edu/Faculty/JDevine/JDevine.html