How
did the fanbase of Russia in the United States shift from the far left of the
political spectrum to a location on the right side of that spectrum? After all,
just three decades ago no respectable member of the Republican Party in the
United States would have been kissing up Russia or its then parent, the Union
of Soviet Socialist Republics.
The
short answer is that the fanbase of Russia in the United States moved because Russia
itself moved from Communism to what might be called Amoral Capitalism, or maybe
No-Morality Capitalism.
For
much of the 20th Century, from 1917 to 1991, Communism provided the structure
for the Russian economy, government, and society. Communism is based on common
ownership of the means of production, usually defined broadly. In practice,
common ownership is government ownership.
The
antithesis of Communism is Capitalism. Under pure Capitalism, the economic
system is totally under private control. In practice, however, pure Capitalism
does not exist, at least to any significant degree. What does exist is often
called a mixed economy. In a mixed economy, both the private sector and
government engage in economic activity.
How
economic activities are allocated between the private sector and government in
a mixed economy is a subject of never ending debate. Proponents of each side in
the debate are prone to apocalyptic language regarding the various pros and
cons. Very generally, the Democratic Party sees a larger role for government
than does the Republican Party. Democrats on the extreme left end of the
political spectrum desire a very large role for government. Republicans on the
right end of the political spectrum want as little government as possible,
maybe even less government than that.
Communism
in Russia and the other member republics of the USSR eroded in the 1980s. Some
observers argue that Communism deteriorated primarily because of its
incompatibility with human individualism. Other observers attribute its fall
primarily to Ronald Reagan, the U.S. President for much of the decade, and a
firm believer in as much Capitalism as possible.
Whatever
the cause of the fall, Communism in Russia and the USSR was done. The U.S. fans
of Russia on the extreme left of the political spectrum had to look elsewhere
for their Big Government fix.
But
what was to take the place of Communism as the guiding principle for the
Russian economy, government, and society? The answer has only slowly emerged,
and the situation is still quite murky. A form of Capitalism, however, appears
to have risen to power. Private economic activity is extensive, but government
is less an overseer and arbiter of that activity than a participant. The
government rules and regulations that are imposed on the private sector in a
largely mixed economy seem, in present-day Russia, to be not so much imposed as
nefariously negotiated, bargained for, and bought.
Some
observers might characterize this result as corrupt: the private sector only
needs to buy its way to success. Other observers, however, might find this
result attractive. Among those possible fans are believers in pure, or almost
pure, Capitalism. The economy is under private control, some of it directly and
some as a result of a symbiotic, incestuous relationship with government. This
form of Capitalism is divorced from morality; it is Amoral Capitalism.
Thus, the new U.S.
fans of Russia can be found in the portion of the U.S. political spectrum that
desires unfettered economic freedom. Indeed, these U.S. fans may well envy the
Capitalists of Russia with their Amoral Capitalism. Government rules and
regulations that succumb to the private sector’s desires and dollars, well
that’s just fine.
