Why We Fought to Defend the USSR

[The One and Only...]

Okay, let's cut to the crap here:

The Soviet Union did go bankrupt. That is an empirical truth.

The reason capitalism hasn't worked in Russia is because it has taken too long to introduce the enforcement of property rights. Land is, for the most part, leased to farmers, which kills investment and mortgage opportunities. Restrictions are placed on what farmers can do to such land. In addition to such "land socialism", Russia has severe business regulations and trade controls. Russia is hardly a system of "capitalism."

However, a few ex-SU countries have succeeded where others failed. One such example is Estonia. Estonia eliminated all tariffs and introduced property rights. The benefits? Estonia boasts an annual growth rate of around 5%, an increased life expectancy, lowered infant mortality rate, and generally higher standard of living, among other good news. In fact, the Estonian economy has rebounded so effectively that it may be inducted into the EU.

You talk about the industrialization of the SU as though it were a second industrial revolution, but this is simply not the case. The industrial revolution involved the development of new techonologies - the SU's contribution to technology was minimal, if any outside of Sputnik. Most of the SU's technology had, particularly in the military, already been developed by foreign countries. Second, the industrial revolution drastically increased living standards, while most studies suggest that it declined during Soviet industrialization.

Anything else?