Power and ProsperityIn the book Power and Prosperity, by Mancur Olson, he talks about the economic and social progression towards a stronger democracy. Throughout the book, Olson explains the differences and flaws of communist and capitalist economies. During the Cold War socialism wasn't really considered a solution, as Soviet Russia, or the USSR, and the United States fought to show the world which system produced the greatest results. Then, after the United States emerged victorious and demonstrated capitalism's ability to achieve results, governments, people, and economies in general began the transition to capitalism. He explains that the reason communism failed to win the Cold War was because Soviet Russia ran on a concept of communism while running on the foundations of a market economy leading to the eventual collapse of growth and bankruptcy of sustainability. Although Professor Olson points out that perpetual subsidies to failing businesses and enterprises diminish incentives to use new resources and strategies to remain proactive, he believes that a managed economy would work if it operated on a completely consistent basis. Olson understands the idea that incentives and capital gains are a necessity in prosperous societies. He argued that anarchy or capitalism, however, which he referred to as a “wandering bandit,” is a concept based on greed and power. According to him, an anarcho-capitalist type of economy actually robs the least competitive or weak, which, in turn, destroys them and, inevitably, creates a state of poverty. For example, Professor Olson stated that “if a mutually beneficial exchange can occur, in which both buyer and seller gain… a card player… was playing, yet continued to practice and improve his game to avoid being second best. This same principle applies to a capitalist who has the best business and highest salary in the nation (aka Bill Gates) to innovate and make the most profit for himself and his business 'analysis of Power and Prosperity, the main purpose of a nation's economic system is to provide maximum wealth to the government and raise the standard of living of the people, in order to create a more stable democracy. controlled economy, whether more socialist or communist, would have created a greater democracy, but if capitalism provides the highest standard of living to the common person, which contradicts his statement, this simply means he is wrong.