We Need the Genius of Ronald Reagan

On December 26, 1991 the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics ceased to exist.  Born during the, “Great October Revolution of 1917” the Soviet Union died at barely 74 years of age.

Eighteen months before the end of this totally failed experiment in social engineering, I told an assembled group of experts in various social sciences that this would happen.  They thought I was crazy. 

Here is the back story.

            In the summer of 1990 I was part of a group of educators working with some National Geographic money to help study and write curriculum for geography classes.  Since I have a master’s in economics, as well as a specialty in science, I earned a spot on the team. [My career was peppered with opportunities like this.  I had unusual specialties, write well, get work done on deadline and can get along with almost anybody.  It was a salable combination.] 

            During the course of our studies, we had a speaker who was telling us about life in modern day Russia.  He rather off-handedly mentioned that throughout the USSR you only paid for merchandise with Euro’s or U.S. dollars.  Even the government owned stores (the infamous GUM included) accepted any currency except the USSR’s own rubles.   I stopped him and asked for clarification.  No, I was not mistaken; he meant exactly what he said. 

            “What you are describing,” I said, “is an economy in which the velocity of M1 is zero.  Such an economy can not exist.  This system is in collapse and its government will fall with it.”

The general reaction of the group was that a major power like the Soviet Union could not simply, “fail.”  I must be missing something. 

I wasn’t, and neither was the engineer of this collapse, President Ronald Reagan. 

In large part, Ronald Reagan must be credited for the death of the Soviet Union.  This is not just the feeling of a passionate Republican.  First of all, Reagan is not my favorite Republican President—even in the modern era.  Second, even a liberal rag like The Economist admits that Reagan deserves a role in this play. 

 Of course, any government that is dedicated to the homogenizing of talent at the expense of excellence is going to die an agonizing death and take wasted generations with it. Never-the-less, Reagan recognized that the USSR was balancing on a knife edge and only needed a push in the right direction.  How did he know this?  Two reasons: intelligence and humility.

Reagan was not a bumbling actor who simply made a wrong turn into the Oval office.  He was a smart man, who thought that seeking the opinion of other smart people was a mark of both intelligence and confidence.  “Yes” men need not apply.  Due to his Intel Reagan knew that the USSR was suffering from its own limitations. He took control of this aspect of foreign policy and personally chaired 57 meeting of the National Security Council in his first year at the White House.  [Contrast this with our current President who no longer bothers with daily briefings.]

Reagan pressed the Soviets on every side.  In his famous, “We win and they lose” metaphor, he had the genius to stop playing for a tie and went, instead, for the win.  The Soviets used energy they no longer possessed and grew feint in the attempt—and they failed.

We need this kind of leadership now, and it can’t be found.  No one in this White House values, recognizes or possesses purpose driven intelligence.  These frat boys are too busy reveling in their own self importance to notice that life, the world and opportunity are all passing them by.  For the average citizen it is frustrating, infuriating a pathetic.

Keeping the faith takes courage.