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Jim Brown's avatar

Excellent piece, Nikos. I propose you follow it up with a sequel featuring USAID's malfeasance and wanton waste of taxpayer money. USAID fraud proves altruism's power: wasting billions must be virtuous because they were given to "others."

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Kirill Magidson's avatar

After thinking more, I’m still not convinced that Western aid “saved” the Soviet Union. The NEP was already underway by 1921 and is seen by many historians as the key factor that stabilized the regime. It’s surprising that it isn’t mentioned, since it seems like the most obvious internal counterweight to the collapse scenario. Even without foreign aid, the regime may well have survived—just at a greater human cost.

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