If one just look at the decline of the USA after the collapse of the SU one might think that it was in fact the SU who was giving the US its stability. Their culture for many decades dominated the entire world. Even in the SU people tried to sneak up some US films and rock music. With an antagonist who was communist the US elites had really be very careful not to anger their people because they might also start an Marxist revolution. So the middleclass was flourishing and life was great. But after the SU collapsed the US started it's decline. We had a small peak late 90s and than it was downwards from there on.
Yes, for the reasons you said. People had a genuine fear of nuclear annihilation and geopolitical advisors had to actually be capable like Kissinger. The elite had to be careful about how they boiled the frog, even if Reagan was doing a great job at it (sending jobs to China, amnesty for millions of illegals, gun control). Today we have nothing but hardliners all over the West who think it's Western supremacy forever even as our countries are all hollowed out economically and socially and our enemies still have thousands of nuclear weapons.
literally collapsed only because chernobyl bankrupted them LMAO
