I think you've raised an interesting idea, although I'd say its less that communism died in the 80's; its more that the nation state competing directly with the

I think you've raised an interesting idea, although I'd say its less that communism died in the 80's; its more that the nation state competing directly with the US using a divergent economic ideology fell behind for the last time. The US becoming the sole superpower does seem to align with some of the issues we see today, and the lack of an existential "threat" makes for a much less unified nation. Regardless, its an interesting thought, and I think I'll see if I can find some additional reading on it.