does anybody else mourn the Cold War, in a way?
The fall of the Iron Curtain sounded a death knell not just for totalitarian government in Europe (hurrah), but also for Western (and perhaps Eastern?) ideology. This, I think, was not such a positive side-effect. The mess were in now is a mess made of global plutocracy.
Hey, at least we knew who the enemy was. And so did they.
And it must have given people such a *frisson* to cross from one side to another. I've had many a Guy Burgess fantasy (not *that* sort of Guy Burgess fantasy!).
Just a thought.
As for the winner: sub-saharan Africa. The CCCP did wonders for literacy in those parts.