At some point in every calendar year I re-read Cato Institute co-founder Ed Crane’s 1981 essay, “Fear and Loathing In the Soviet Union.” A recap of his visit to the communist country, it astounded for its description of a destroyed country with a distinct communist “scent,” along with hunched over, miserable people.
Crane’s conclusion at the time was that the USSR’s wrecked state indicted American liberals and conservatives alike: for members of the Left who claimed the country’s economic system had achieved growth commensurate (or even half the size) with the United States, they had exposed themselves as hopelessly dense. There was little “economy” there to speak of since the people weren’t free to produce. The latter, of course, exposed hardline members of the Right eager to pursue a massive military buildup as protection against the Soviets, as equally dense. The simple truth was that the Soviets lacked any kind of economy necessary to stage a war. Crane was clear that the failed country’s days were numbered.
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