Two major theories have been suggested as the reason that the Soviet Union collapsed. One is that the U. S. (particularly Ronald Reagan) spent so much on defense that the Soviet Union went broke trying to keep up. The other explanation is that Soviet Communism "fell of its own weight", because Communism simply doesn't work. Which if these explanations do you find more convincing and why? Also, feel free to advance another theory.

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31 May, 00:44

Two major theories have been suggested as the reason that the Soviet Union collapsed. One is that the U. S. (particularly Ronald Reagan) spent so much on defense that the Soviet Union went broke trying to keep up. The other explanation is that Soviet Communism "fell of its own weight", because Communism simply doesn't work. Which if these explanations do you find more convincing and why? Also, feel free to advance another theory.

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Hana Mercer · Answer 1

The economic bases of communism, its premises, were wrong. Its centralized command economy, predominant state property, state control of means of production, state-centerered allocation of resources, supression of market laws (supply and demand law) and denying private enterpreneurship and risk taking made it highly bureaucratic and made it impossible to create wealth in the long run. The increased defense expenditure of the Reagan administration put addtional pressure on the Soviet and allied economies, but it is only a factor that added to the burden and troubles of a failed system that ultimately, proved impossible to be reformed.