A Soviet science guy might not have been the best example. They were on the upper tiers in those days.

I have absolutely no doubt that a huge number of Americans would adapt quite well to a Soviet-style command state. After all, when you think about it, the vast majority of the people in such countries didn't have all that much trouble avoiding the knocks on the door at night.

Do your job, don't make waves, and go along to get along. If you play your cards right - in the realm of pull, not ability - maybe you can become one of the "nomenklatura."

And of course, there's always the vodka.

After a couple of generations, nobody will even remember what it used to be like when the living standards were twice as high.

The Eastern bloc fell because people could look across the barbed wire and see the truth. When the West goes down the same road, there'll be nowhere left to look.