Kevin Gutzman, I am still not convinced bolstering US military spending by $800 billion was a key component to the fall of the Soviet Union. Yes Bessmertnykh credits the method as an accelerator but basic economics demonstrates that the soviet interpretation of communism was doomed to fail whether or not the United States behaved as a competing super power.
Unfortunately I am working purely on my understanding of basic economic systems and not basing my argument on a well researched and published case study.
