I haven't made it all the way into Russia. Covid stopped me halfway there. I have been to the USA though, and I drove over the raised highway on the way to New Orleans, passing over the huts and shacks lived in by the "swamp hicks". I saw some places which resemble that picture on the outskirts of town in some eastern European countries. It was not the standard. People there just seem to have other priorities than spending heaps of cash on "stuff". It's a fading attitude though.
Russia lost the cold war because they pissed off the landholders by taking their property. From that moment on there was a faction within communist Russia determined to pit everything they had to overthrow the system. It was a complex issue, but the superiority of capitalism was not the cause of their demise. Capitalism exploits human greed as a method of control. Communism could not defeat human greed.
The main reason for my sentiment toward Russia is the emphasis there on family. Parents in the west are literally selling their children to priests for a few extra dollars. It's widespread. Open your eyes.
I'd like to know if the orthodox church is any better.
To be more on topic though, does the citizen need so much choice? They can go to a supermarket and choose between a variety of foodstuffs which are filled with toxins or which have had much of the nutrition removed and replaced with unhealthy filler. Food culture in the USA amongst the working class is a tragedy.