At 03:08 PM 5/26/01 -0500 Dan Minette wrote:
>No one in their right mind would think that the USSR was an economic
>challenger to the US in the '70s.
Then why weren't all these people "in their right mind" publishing books,
giving scholarly lectures, and working for the major world governments?
Did so few of the authors, professors, and intillegence experts of the day
not have access to this information?
I mean, how many books, editorials, papers, lectures, etc. are out there
from the 1970's with great titles like:
"Why Worry? The Soviet Union is Doomed to Collapse."
"The Cold War - The Inevitable Ending"
"The Coming Communist Implosion, and How to Profit From It"
"Stock Tips For The Next Century: Toilet Paper Exports Will Be Big"
>I was from a city that was considered
>very backwater (Duluth MN) and I had friends who had personal experience
>with unused newsprint being the best toilet paper in Russia and seeing the
>long queues for basics. That was well known.
If shortages, long queues, and general economic ineptness are a predictor
of governmental collapse, how do you explain North Korea? It seems that
one does *not* necessarily portend the other. Less extreme examples
abound also, how about Kenya? Or Zimbabwe?
>But, the fact that ordinary bright Russians usually politely put
>off accepting invitations to join the Communist Party, as my house guest of
>several years ago told me that he and his friends did, showed something was
>amiss. Why would people turn down a chance to be in the upper echelon of
>society?
Perhaps a few moral disagreements with promoting the Party? A general
dislike of going to social events with corrupt, if not evil, people?
JDG
__________________________________________________________
John D. Giorgis - [EMAIL PROTECTED] - ICQ #3527685
"The point of living in a Republic after all, is that we do not live by
majority rule. We live by laws and a variety of institutions designed
to check each other." -Andrew Sullivan 01/29/01
