--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: The Soviet Union was a partial check on…" description: "\"The Soviet Union was a partial check on capitalist looting in the 1950s, 1960s, 1970s, and 1980s. However, with the Soviet collapse, capitalist looting..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a12/paul-craig-roberts-3108_1950s_the-soviet-union-was-a-partial-check-on_666511.png" --- # The Soviet Union was a partial check on capitalist looting… ![“The Soviet Union was a partial check on capitalist looting in the 1950s, 1960s, 1970s, and 1980s. However, with the Soviet collapse, capitalist looting intensified during the Clinton, Bush, and Obama regimes.” quote by Paul Craig Roberts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a12/paul-craig-roberts-3108_1950s_the-soviet-union-was-a-partial-check-on_666511.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a12/paul-craig-roberts-3108_1950s_the-soviet-union-was-a-partial-check-on_666511.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a12/paul-craig-roberts-3108_1950s_the-soviet-union-was-a-partial-check-on_666511.png) > “The Soviet Union was a partial check on capitalist looting in the 1950s, 1960s, 1970s, and 1980s. However, with the Soviet collapse, capitalist looting intensified during the Clinton, Bush, and Obama regimes.” [Paul Craig Roberts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-craig-roberts/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The Soviet Union acted as a partial deterrent to Western exploitation, but its collapse removed that check, leading to increased capitalist excess under later US administrations. **In simple terms:** Soviet collapse allowed more capitalist exploitation. Key Takeaway Recognize how power vacuums affect economies. Themes politics economics history Mood analytical concerned Type historical political When to use this quote - policy analysis - investment strategy - historical study Key Concepts capitalism geopolitics power dynamics Questions to Reflect On - What mechanisms can replace lost checks? - Are current policies mitigating excess? A Different Perspective Economic outcomes depend on institutional checks. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [1950s](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/zz-1950s-413/) [1970s](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/zz-1970s-440/) [Capitalist](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/capitalist/) [Capitalist Looting](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/capitalist-looting-5300991/) [Check Capitalist](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/check-capitalist-5300993/) [Collapse](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/collapse/) [Looting 1950S](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/looting-1950s-5300992/) [Soviet union](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/soviet-union/) ## Related quotes > [“Very often the test of one's allegiance to a cause or to a people is precisely the willingness to stay the course when things…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-hitchens/very-often-the-test-of-one-s-allegiance-to-a-cause-or-to-a-people-is/) [Christopher Hitchens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-hitchens/) > [The human capital of most macroeconomists, heavily invested in demand management, was wiped out by the policy failures of the 1970s.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-craig-roberts/the-human-capital-of-most-macroeconomists-heavily-invested-in-demand/) [Paul Craig Roberts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-craig-roberts/) > [I started with very tonal 19th-century music because I wanted to be a violinist as a child. 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Democrats are complicit in this absurd…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-craig-roberts/the-notion-that-americans-can-be-protected-from-terror-by-giving-up/) [Paul Craig Roberts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-craig-roberts/) > [Americans have no idea why they have been at war in the Middle East, Asia and Africa for a decade. They don't realize that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-craig-roberts/americans-have-no-idea-why-they-have-been-at-war-in-the-middle-east/) [Paul Craig Roberts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-craig-roberts/) > [There are enough fools in Washington to destroy the country without any help from Muslim terrorists.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-craig-roberts/there-are-enough-fools-in-washington-to-destroy-the-country-without/) [Paul Craig Roberts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-craig-roberts/) > [Every public institution in the United States and most private ones are corrupt.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-craig-roberts/every-public-institution-in-the-united-states-and-most-private-ones/) [Paul Craig Roberts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-craig-roberts/) > [The office of U.S. Trade Representative was created in order to permit corporations to write law that serves only their interests.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-craig-roberts/the-office-of-u-s-trade-representative-was-created-in-order-to-permit/) [Paul Craig Roberts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-craig-roberts/) [Explore all 139 Paul Craig Roberts quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-craig-roberts/) ## More 1950s quotes > [Unless you're of a certain age, you may not know my name, but you can Google it - I was a pretty big movie…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tab-hunter/unless-you-re-of-a-certain-age-you-may-not-know-my-name-but-you-can/) [Tab Hunter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tab-hunter/) > [“The 1950s witnessed especially rapid expansion of electronic and electrical firms, of tobacco, soft drink, and food-processing companies, and of the chemical, plastics, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-t-patterson/the-1950s-witnessed-especially-rapid-expansion-of-electronic-and/) [James T. Patterson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-t-patterson/) > [In the late 1950s a major topic under discussion was whether Canada should acquire nuclear weapons.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-charles-polanyi/in-the-late-1950s-a-major-topic-under-discussion-was-whether-canada/) [John Charles Polanyi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-charles-polanyi/) > [In the early 1950s, during the near avalanche of discoveries, rediscoveries, and redefinitions of subcellular components made possible by electron microscopy, those prospecting in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-emil-palade/in-the-early-1950s-during-the-near-avalanche-of-discoveries/) [George Emil Palade](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-emil-palade/) > [What we're most aware of in 'Eight-Legged Freaks' is how similar it is to other movies, a recombinant mutated species itself, the product of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elvis-mitchell/what-we-re-most-aware-of-in-eight-legged-freaks-is-how-similar-it-is/) [Elvis Mitchell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elvis-mitchell/) > [I am a product of the 1950s.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/debra-jo-rupp/i-am-a-product-of-the-1950s/) [Debra Jo Rupp](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/debra-jo-rupp/) > [We had a very upwardly mobile economy, and that peaked around the 1950s when the typical middle-class American family consisted of a father with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-schiff/we-had-a-very-upwardly-mobile-economy-and-that-peaked-around-the/) [Peter Schiff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-schiff/) > [“Nixon had sought the treatment of a psychiatrist throughout the 1950s.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mike-colapietro-roger-stone/nixon-had-sought-the-treatment-of-a-psychiatrist-throughout-the-1950s/) [Mike Colapietro Roger Stone](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mike-colapietro-roger-stone/) > [“Disneyland was one perfect answer. 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