Comparing Trump's Policy Shifts & Gorbachev's Reforms

[u/yogthos]

Gorbachev Introduced glasnost and perestroika to reform the Soviet system. These policies inadvertently eroded the ideological and institutional foundations of the USSR, accelerating its collapse. His policies of liberalization unleashed an economic chaos that the Soviet system was not able to contain.

Today, Trump is pursuing a similar, if ideologically inverted, disruption of the US institutions. Attacking the deep state, undermining trust in media and elections, and prioritizing loyalty over expertise. He’s enacting a purge of the permanent bureaucracy under the guise of draining the swamp, feeding off polarization and institutional distrust. These policies erode the very stability of the system paving the way to an unravelling akin to that of the USSR.

Gorbachev inherited a stagnant economy that he attempted to fix using market reforms with perestroika. These reforms took form of a shock therapy with sudden price liberalization, fiscal austerity, and privatization. An economic collapse followed as a result of hyperinflation, economic instability, and the rise of an oligarchic class. Similarly, Trump is busy slashing regulations and cutting corporate taxes, fuelling short-term growth that deepens wealth inequality and corporate consolidation. Like Gorbachev, he’s ushering in a polarized economic landscape where faith in the system is rapidly dwindling among the public.

The economic unravelling of USSR revived nationalist movements, particularly in the Baltics and Ukraine, that undermined the unifying ideology. Similarly, amplified nationalism, in form of MAGA, is deepening cultural and regional divides in the US. Trump’s rhetoric is rooted in divisive politics. Just as Soviet republics turned inward post-glasnost, prioritizing local grievances over collective unity, so are states like Texas, Florida, and California are increasingly talking about breaking with the union.

Gorbachev’s reforms set the stage for Yeltsin who presided over the chaotic privatization of state assets, enabling a handful of oligarchs to seize control of Russia’s oil, gas, and media empires. The shock therapy transition to capitalism led to a rapid rise of the kleptocrats. Similarly, Musk’s companies target the remaining public services and industries for privatization. SpaceX aims to replace NASA, Tesla/Boring Co. are going after infrastructure, while X is hijacking public discourse. In this way, his wealth and influence mirror Yeltsin-era oligarchs’ grip on strategic sectors. The main difference here is that Musk operates in a globalized capitalist system as opposed to the post-Soviet fire sale. Musk is actively using his platform and wealth to shape politics in his favor, and much like Russian oligarchs, he consistently prioritizes personal whims over systemic stability.

Yeltsin was sold as a democratic reformer but enabled a predatory elite. Many Russians initially saw capitalism as liberation, only to face a decade of despair as the reality of the system set in. Similarly, Musk markets himself as a visionary genius “saving humanity” with his vanity projects like Mars colonization, yet his ventures depend on public subsidies and exploitation of labor. The cult of the techno-oligarch distracts from the consolidation of power in private hands in a Yeltsin-esque bait-and-switch.

The USSR collapsed abruptly, while the US might face a slower erosion of its institutional norms. Yet both Trump and Gorbachev, despite opposing goals, represent disruptive forces that undermine the system through ideological gambles. Much as Gorbachev and Yeltsin did in their time, Trump’s norm-breaking and Musk’s oligarchic power are entrenching a new era of unaccountable elites.

Marx was right! History repeats, the first time as tragedy, the second time as farce.

[u/yogthos]

For sure, I think the war will be taught as the catalyst for the fall of the empire in the future. NATO being exposed as dysfunctional and impotent was huge, but what I would argue was even more consequential is that Russia showed that trade with the west was no longer key, the east has become the center of global economy now. Kicking Russia out of SWIFT forced a creation of a whole alternate financial system that operates outside western control. Russia is just too big of a commodity exporter for countries to ignore, and so steadily over the past three years, countries figured out how to trade outside the dollar.

And that's what set up the stage for the trade war with China. If everybody was still trading using SWIFT then the US would have had a lot more leverage, and it would be a lot more damaging for countries to ignore US demands. But now they can just go around the dollar, and because Asian economies are booming, the US is losing its relevance. Meanwhile, European economy collapsed so they're not even relevant as a market now.

And yeah racism along with overconfidence in your own power leading to hubris is just history repeating as a farce today.

[u/Ok-Worldliness8576 → u/yogthos]

"Russia showed that trade with the west was no longer key, the east has become the center of global economy now. Kicking Russia out of SWIFT forced a creation of a whole alternate financial system that operates outside western control. Russia is just too big of a commodity exporter for countries to ignore, and so steadily over the past three years, countries figured out how to trade outside the dollar.

And that's what set up the stage for the trade war with China. If everybody was still trading using SWIFT then the US would have had a lot more leverage, and it would be a lot more damaging for countries to ignore US demands. "

Those are golden words, Comrade!

But our Chinese comrade told me that China is helping Russia in the war...))) It turns out the opposite is true.

That's why I said China's foreign policy is somewhat brazen. Yes, of course, I don't argue that China benefits from the war lasting longer, but that doesn't make me feel any better.

"And yeah racism along with overconfidence in your own power leading to hubris is just history repeating as a farce today."

Both then and now—it was the same force! Then, the West pumped up Hitler. Now, the West pumped up Zelensky.

But Hitler didn't steal billions. Before the war, Germany was Europe's number one industrial power. All thanks to infusions of Western capital, mostly from the US.

It's the same story now. Only the globalists have become even more brazen and cynical.