> We'll have to disagree on this one. There was a lot wrong with the
> USSR, but it was a good try, especially at the beginning, and it kept
> the U.S. in check. The world is, on balance, worse in its absence.
>
> Doug
So you're a fan of tyranny with a socialist face? I can imagine saying that some particular socialist tyrannies were worth supporting, given the likely alternatives. But to call any of them "good tries" strikes me as repugnant. Further, what's the evidence that the Soviet Union kept the US in check? On the contrary, the US needed a dancing partner for many of the various Thrid World wars it participated in directly or by proxy after WWII. Now, I suppose that sounds facile if you think the Cold War was something dreamed up by men like George Kennan to make the Third World safe for big business, but...
-- Luke