Well, the Soviet Union was certainly innovative in certain areas - they did, after all, get the first satellite and human into space. The point isn't whether "

Well, the Soviet Union was certainly innovative in certain areas - they did, after all, get the first satellite and human into space. The point isn't whether "the free market" or the "will of the proletariat" will solve all the world's problems through innovation. The universe does not care for our beliefs. Either the current environmental and energy crises are solvable through human ingenuity (by "solvable" I mean that we can continue world economic growth and rise in living standards indefinitely) or they are not; if they are not it really doesn't make any difference whether you follow Ayn Rand or Karl Marx.