Quote Originally Posted by Hanna View Post
And on the US vs USSR comparison - Croc, how to you explain the successes of the USSR in space, science, sports and a few other things? I mean, sure, the material standard of a 1960s worker in the USA was probably better in most cases, than in the USSR, but the difference was not THAT huge, and the USSR did really well in some areas. In some aspects, the USSR worker might have had an equally good or better setup. What is your explanation for that?
The way I see it - the USSR became more specialized in some areas and it came at the expense of losing focus on the others. The Soviet Union sent the Sputnik first, but failed to provide the overall living conditions comparable to the West. By the 80s, the USSR had the best weaponry and an excellent sports team, but purchased wheat from Canada. For centuries Russian Empire was a major exporter of food, but by the most developed stage of the Developed Socialism, the state ended up exchanging their natural resources for food. The way I see it - the living conditions of the population weren't a priority for the party and the government, but the sports was as the sports provided the bright outlook and hence the political benefits.