Yes, ironic that we have moved toward the oppression of the Soviet Union, but striking differences between the U.S. and the old Soviet Union remain, despite growing similarities. To me, there is nothing more ironic in our entire history then G. W. Bush proclaiming we are engaged in democracy building in Iraq when he himself was appointed president by the Court. We, like all large, developed nations are evolving. And there can never be universal agreement on the direction that that evolution should take. Scat, here are two books I can highly recommend to you, the first will explain why we do what we do, and the second will put all of economics in perspective. These books are E.O. Wilson's "The Social Conquest of Earth" , particularly from chapter 10 onward.
https://www.google.com/search?q=e.+...fl1NZneD3eOO8-3GnI3pVlHvL30x5d0QMAJEPZAVHAAAA
And a wonderful new book by Australian economist, John Quiggin, "Zombie Economics." This is a humorous and critical review of economic schools of thought from Adam Smith to the Present day.
https://www.google.com/search?q=zom...s=org.mozilla:en-US:official&client=firefox-a