Good post and thoughts from all.
The American "Corporation" is bankrupt and is collapsing but I sincerely hope it doesn't take all the good folks with it.
As for Russia, my belief is that the truth about how life has changed there has been kept from us. Look at this for instance:
http://carolynbaker.net/site/content/view/313/
A return to sociallism? I think the time of the "isms" to solve our challenges is gone - what we need are communities based on trust, caring and service.