Richard D. Wolff

Ben, DID the Soviet Union fail? Stop thinking about Russia and the other Soviet Republics as a phenomenon born in October 1917 and dead with Perestroika. As Dr Wolff has said many times what they accomplished in the face of such multiple adversarieswasremarkable.
Putin is just another form of a czar, corruption exists, the orthodox church holds considerable influence and warm water ports may or may not still be a desire with global warming and the opening of arctic passages. They still fear, with good reason invasion be it
french grenadier, whermacht or NATO. The russian man and woman on the street is better educated, doesn’t worry about going hungry any LESS than many americans and doesn’t list serf as as occupation.
As for North Korea? look at a map of our greatest ground advance during the war before chinese intervention. Now imagine the entire infrastructure bombed to rumble and then to dust as described by our military. Imagine one in three dead ( sound like Iraq?) by the armistice and a client state dictator of China fearfull of hostile border states. Install a family dynasty dedicated to it’s own survival who have turned off a lot more lights than streetlamps.

The Soviet Union failed for many reasons
1) There are still a lot of lessons to be learned in finding an alternative to capitalism.
2) It was not a genuine form of communism. Right wingers and fascists had infiltrated
3) Communists have had both the Nazi regime and USA against them
4) The cold war was not just a military operation but a psychological war as well. Ie Propaganda.
5) The cold war didn´t just cost US taxpayers money, but Russia felt forced to divert a lot of money towards competing in a pointless arms race. Money that could have been far better spent.
6) Russia lost tens of millions of lives in both WW1 and WW2. People are the most valuable resource.
7) Russia had a far higher percentage of uneducated people. They knew a lot about farm work but little about building a new type of society. One that would benefit everybody.
8) Russia offered state capitalism. The government also had the monopoly on trade. It was open to corruption.
9) It failed to promote a system that has been proven to function. If well organised and well thought out. That is a workers co-operative. A folks bank can work well.

Why are american factories and their former communities as desolate as Chernobyl? Why do we incarcerate more citizens per capita than any other nation? Why don’t we have universal health plans, free higher education, maternity leave and greater vacation time like many socialist allies in Europe? Why do we have military bases worldwide and increasingly paramilitary domestic police but do not feel secure and hold the highest per kapita number of priovate firearms? Why do we have more digital devises in our homes ( those of us with homes) than Winston in 1984 but most people’s reference library consists of Martha Stewart? WHY, and I could go on; why worry about dark nights in North Korea
when a deeper darkness is descending on the USA? Quoting POGO " We have met the enemy, and he is us."