Re: The Cold War

[Doug Henwood <dhenwood@xxxxxxxxx>]

On Sat, 5 Nov 1994, Herbert Gintis wrote:

> 	We [USA] were the good guys, and they [USSR] were the bad guys, in this
> case. You haven't said what's wrong with the argument I made. You just
> say you don't like it.

Wow, sure do love these new ideas; beat the old ones hands down.

There's little question that domestically, Americans were politically
freer than Soviets. But, abroad, who overthrew more governments,
prosecuted more wars (overt and covert), assassinated more foreign
leaders, and destabilized economies, the "good" guys or the "bad" guys?

And now that that bad old system has collapsed, why are things worse than
ever in the former USSR?

And might the evolution of the Soviet system have something to do with
Russian history before 1917 - imperialism, economic backwardness, and
political repression? Of course, considering that might upset these neat
Manichean models.

Doug

Doug Henwood [dhenwood@xxxxxxxxx]
Left Business Observer
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212-874-3137 (fax)