Relay-Version: version B 2.10 5/3/83; site utzoo.UUCP Posting-Version: version B 2.10.2 9/3/84; site teddy.UUCP Path: utzoo!linus!philabs!cmcl2!harvard!talcott!panda!teddy!lkk From: lkk@teddy.UUCP Newsgroups: net.politics Subject: Re: Re: The myth of Allied invasion of R Message-ID: <1576@teddy.UUCP> Date: Mon, 4-Nov-85 10:31:16 EST Article-I.D.: teddy.1576 Posted: Mon Nov 4 10:31:16 1985 Date-Received: Tue, 5-Nov-85 21:43:47 EST References: <544@qantel.UUCP> <7800608@inmet.UUCP> Reply-To: lkk@teddy.UUCP (Larry K. Kolodney) Organization: GenRad, Inc., Concord, Mass. Lines: 32 In article <7800608@inmet.UUCP> janw@inmet.UUCP writes: >Let me add this. >Though hypotheses in "alternative history" are unverifiable, >it is quite likely that, without Communism, the Russian empire >would have fallen apart. All the others did (count: >Austro-Hungary, Britain, France, Holland, Belgium, Portugal, >Spain...). This one survived, and spread, and keeps spreading. What about the American empire? Seems like an equally important factor in keeping such empires together is contiguity. The only contiguous empires I can think of off hand are U.S., China, and U.S.S.R. They're all seem pretty permanent. > >Communism provided it (1) with an incomparable machinery >of power and (2) with a supranational, internationalist >ideology, acceptable to the ruling class of subject lands. >It also (3) made economic gain secondary to power gain, so >the empire needn't be cost effective to exist. American ideology (whatever that may be) seems to have done a pretty effective job as well. -- Sport Death, (USENET) ...{decvax | ihnp4!mit-eddie}!genrad!panda!lkk Larry Kolodney (INTERNET) lkk@mit-mc.arpa -------- Life is either a daring adventure, or nothing. - Helen Keller