The Soviet Union collapsed on its own through poor economic policies. Raegan was just the man who shot Liberty Valence.
The Arsenal of Freedom
- Thread starter matthunter
- Start date
The title is of course a cynical play on "The Arsenal of Democracy" which was popularized by FDR. However, in fact, the phrase was used as far back as 1918 in reference to an American free press being "one of the most effective weapons in the arsenal of democracy."
Also he convinced OPEC to increse oil production, which naturally reduced the international price of oil. Russia (as now) depended on high energy prices to finance itself.
Reagan ordered a massive military build up that the Russians couldn't financially match.
Supported anti-communist movements around the world.
Reagan also offered a series of diplomatic inititives to the Russians, giving them a way out of their self created flawed system (central control of a economy? Morans).
Push and pull, Reagan ended the cold war.
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This is a good point.
It's a very 'ensemble' show, and nearly everybody (even the underutilized Tasha Yar and Deanna Troi) gets something to do in the story. Even Picard, who at that stage seldom joined away teams, gets to go down to the planet, which must be notable in and of itself. 
Gorbachev had to exist for things to improve. All Reagan had to do was stand pat, and the Soviet Union collapsed under it's own weight. In fact, as I suggested, the episode was against the very thing that made Reagan's administration the most corrupt and arms proliferating in the history of the country.
Sadly, the US is still the biggest arms dealer in the world, befitting of our place as the greatest murderers of our own selves as well.
A lot of what you say is revisionist fantasy.
Not really, the Soviet Union/Warsaw Pact had a huge numerical advantage, even if they never produced another war machine. Without a Gorbachev to realize his country's plight, and the wherewithal to do something about it, Reagan's brute force, neanderthal approach would have gone nowhere. Look at North Korea as an opposing example.
The only thing fighting communism all over the world did was to convince most locals we were busy-bodies and militant. Reagan used corrupt methods more than anyone else to buttress these brush fire wars. The US in general has supported corrupt regimes for our own ends...to fight the boogeyman of communism.
Capitalism is also a flawed but useful system, that will probably disappear in the next 30-40 years.
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The "huge advantage" of the Warsaw pact was that they, unlike us, hadn't pissed away their materiel in an actual war, like we did in Viet Nam. Those interested in a slightly different take on all this would do well to seek out, if you can find it, an article called "The Taming of the Bear" by Norman Spinrad. (Yes, that Norman Spinrad.)
While not exactly predicting the fall of the Soviet Union, Spinrad lays out the reasons for what he called "the coming decline of Soviet power". The article, interestingly enough, was published before either Reagan or Gorbachev came to power.
While not exactly predicting the fall of the Soviet Union, Spinrad lays out the reasons for what he called "the coming decline of Soviet power". The article, interestingly enough, was published before either Reagan or Gorbachev came to power.
I do recall seeing multiple opinions in the early 80s that the Soviets couldn't sustain themselves so Spinrad wasn't the only one. I don't think that really was a mystery, but the exact mechanism of the failure of communism was not really expected.
I would quibble that the US hadn't squandered anything. Simply looking at US force levels would demonstrate we had far more equipment in the 60s and early 70s than at any other time before or after Viet Nam since WWII. We had a 900 ship navy, 23 air craft carriers, over 3 million men with millions in reserve. Even during Reagan's build up we had a 600 ship navy and a much smaller army.
RAMA
I would quibble that the US hadn't squandered anything. Simply looking at US force levels would demonstrate we had far more equipment in the 60s and early 70s than at any other time before or after Viet Nam since WWII. We had a 900 ship navy, 23 air craft carriers, over 3 million men with millions in reserve. Even during Reagan's build up we had a 600 ship navy and a much smaller army.
RAMA
Can the politics. This ain't the place and you both know it.
On the nosey! He was great! Love that grinning ugly mug!I suspect that this episode exists for the express purpose of giving Vincent Schiavelli a chance to star in TNG.
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This, of course, is another example of very useful tech never returned to.
I love this episode, although its main idea (though not plot) is sorta The Doomsday Machine recycled. But don't really care. Frankly I wanted less of the pit scene though and more of Skynet's Used Weapons Systems salesman.
Couldn't agree more with this. What an eye roller all that was! But there is another weakness of the ep for me in the ship story--too much Geordi. I never cared for LeVar Burton in TNG. Too forced I felt in everything. And I never liked sausage section anything, I am more a bacon module man.
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