The Long Road from 1917 to 2017

By any standards 1917 was a pivotal year.  President Woodrow Wilson got us into the First World War and Vladimir Lenin imposed Communism onto Russia.  It was the insignificant start of Wilsonism competing with Leninism, and Leninism competing with Wilsonism.  Both practiced universal missionism.  One drew its inspiration from Manifest Destiny while the other drew its inspiration from the Communist Manifesto.   Both forged ideologies which axiomatically assumed human nature to be good.  Both condemned the old and regaled in utopian futures.  Both tended to deify politics, which dangerously neglected ethics.  While Wilsonism wanted to make the world safe for Democracy, Communism soon formed the Third Communist International to make the world safe for the industrial workers.

In an uncompromising crusading fashion that emphasized unconditional surrender, the two future Super Powers, over the long term, put the primacy on foreign policy over domestic policy.   In so doing, both incurred trillions in costs which would ultimately force both to reverse themselves to place the priority on domestic policies.

During the Cold War, the economies of Russia and the U.S. drained their wealth through monstrous military expenditures which caused horrible militarily induced environmental pollution.  Both are still afraid to admit this and actually avoid focusing on it.

In their unrelenting competition both drowned the globe with massive propaganda.  One of the major manifestations of this was the competitive race to the moon. 

During the 40 year long Cold War both engaged in hot wars and supported dozens of client states around the world.  Without much demur, Russians and Americans bore the cost. 

Both engaged in foreign guerrilla wars which both lost.  Ironically enough, both even lost a guerilla war in the same country, Afghanistan, after many years.

Neither learned from the origin of guerrilla war in Spain in 1808, when a few guerillas, i.e. self-appointed warriors, tied down Napoleon’s war machine to no end.

During the 1917 to 2017 period, neither viewed themselves as having major similarities in their historical evolution.  Yet, that was and is the case.  The U.S. had a massive Western Frontier and Russia had a massive Eastern Frontier.  Neither retreated until they met in Alaska, a confrontation which fortunately was solved through a purchase, though without the consent of the native population. 

Russia had serfdom and did not retreat from it until the overwhelming event of a war, the Crimean War.  The U.S. had slavery and did not retreat from it until the overwhelming event of the Civil War.

Presently, both economies are, for all practical purposes, run and dominated by billionaires.  Both have military retiree villages, expressive of their military having acquired symptoms of a caste system, an oddity which does not exist in any other Western economy.

The final irony of the competitive confrontation started in 1917 is the fact that it happened in spite of strong historical similarities.  In a way, this negates somewhat the self-congratulatory belief that the U.S. won the Cold War.  Even Europe’s formulation---to appease Russia--- that everyone won the Cold War is invalid.   The correct historical assessment is that everyone lost during the Cold War.  In a qualified way, everyone  lost during the hundred years, 1917 to 2017, when Wilsonism v. Leninism started the century long competition.  It will not totally end until the priority is placed back on domestic events and not on foreign affairs, especially foreign wars.