The only way they could have kept control of the country was to descend closer to 'hermit kingdom' like North Korea, had the economy produced even at 2/3rds of

The only way they could have kept control of the country was to descend closer to 'hermit kingdom' like North Korea, had the economy produced even at 2/3rds of what the US did on a per capita basis, the Union would still exist as is. We (the US) were able to trigger an arms race at a time when the Union was least able to afford it, and overwhelm what central planning could deal with.