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The Ancient World
- Building Societies – What Does it Take? – Lesson
- Building Societies – What Does it Take? – Quiz
- Athens, Rome, and Jerusalem: Where Western Civilization Began – Lesson
- Athens, Rome, and Jerusalem: Where Western Civilization Began – Quiz
- Persia: Where Fake News Began? – Lesson
- Persia: Where Fake News Began? – Quiz
- Tell Brak: The World’s Most Ancient City? – Lesson
- The Key to Ancient Egypt: Rosetta Stone 200 Years On – Lesson
- The Key to Ancient Egypt: Rosetta Stone 200 Years On – Quiz
- Ancient Rock Art Suggests Humans Occupied Earth 13,000 Years Ago – Lesson
- Ancient Rock Art Suggests Humans Occupied Earth 13,000 Years Ago – Quiz
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World History
- Slavery: An Ancient Evil That Still Exists Today – Lesson
- A Tale Of Two Sacrifices – Part I – Lesson
- A Tale Of Two Sacrifices – Part II – Lesson
- The Story Behind the Israel-Palestine Conflict – Lesson
- Churchill Vs. Hitler: Standing Up for Europe – Lesson
- War, Peace, and School Bullies – Lesson
- Survey Says: Millennials and Gen Z Just Don’t Know the Holocaust – Lesson
- V-J Day: Celebrating 75 Years Since Japan’s Surrender – Lesson
- A History of Ukraine: Battleground for Empires – Part 1 – Lesson
- A History of Ukraine: Battleground for Empires – Part 1 – Quiz
- A History of Ukraine: Battleground for Empires – Part 2 – Lesson
- A History of Ukraine: Battleground for Empires – Part 2 – Quiz
- History of the Holy Land – Quiz
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U.S. Allies and Rivals
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Around the Globe Today
- Chinese Uighurs – What Is Going On? – Lesson
- A New Republic – Barbados Removes the Queen as the Head of State – Lesson
- A New Republic – Barbados Removes the Queen as the Head of State – Quiz
- Venice Makes a New Rule for Tourists – Will Other Cities Follow? – Lesson
- Venice Makes a New Rule for Tourists – Will Other Cities Follow? – Quiz
- Professor Lives Underwater for 100 Days – Lesson
- Professor Lives Underwater for 100 Days – Quiz
- Setenil de las Bodegas – The Spanish Town Built Under a Rock – Lesson
- Setenil de las Bodegas – The Spanish Town Built Under a Rock – Quiz
- Hat of Napoleon Bonaparte Sells for Over $2 Million at Auction – Lesson
- Hat of Napoleon Bonaparte Sells for Over $2 Million at Auction – Quiz
- The UK Plans to Measure Kids’ Bellies to Monitor Their Health – Lesson
- The UK Plans to Measure Kids’ Bellies to Monitor Their Health – Quiz
- Radioactive Wolves in Chernobyl – Lesson
- Radioactive Wolves in Chernobyl – Quiz
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Politics and Economics Around the Globe
The Soviet Union Shows Why Socialism Doesn’t Work – Lesson
Socialism has never worked – and the fall of the Soviet Union shows why.
Like every other socialist experiment throughout the 20th and 21st centuries, price controls, production quotas, central planning, and totalitarian government were present in the Soviet Union. And, like all the other examples, widespread misery and suffering soon followed.
The Soviets attempted to run the economy without market prices, instead relying on the intellect of Gosplan, a federal government agency that established the “correct” levels of prices, production, and wages.
For example, Gosplan determined the prices of retail goods by first calculating the total amount of money that was spent on wages and how much was ready for consumption. The agency would then use the tally and equate it to the value of all goods produced in that year according to one of their many five-year plans.
Goods were also classified into two categories: Group A, which was heavy industry, and Group B, which included consumer goods. The former was given top priority.
Effects Of Central Planning
Shortages of basic consumer products – food and otherwise – were prevalent. While scarcities were not as severe in major population centers, like Leningrad and Moscow, they were common in the rest of the country. You either found nothing on state-run store shelves, or you waited in long lines.
Eventually, the government instituted a rationing system. Different areas had different rules. Moscow, for example, established limits on the quantity shoppers could buy and regulated operating hours. Some cities had coupons; others imposed restrictions.
These developments soon shifted into other areas, including health care. Children could not purchase milk without a doctor’s prescription, hospital power outages were routine, and the government initiated a public awareness campaign about the dangers of overeating. Medical bureaucrats used anesthesia as a form of extortion; it was “unavailable” for surgeries, but if you paid a bribe, then it magically appeared. The infant mortality rate was so bad that the government did not count children as being born until they survived their first month.
The public finally had enough of socialism.
The Fall Of The Red Menace
The fall of the Soviet Union is a case study in waiting for the laws of economics to destroy a nation. The dissolution of the U.S.S.R. was caused by failed economics and the fatal conceit of the socialists.