ansan wrote...
The world is probably better in many ways, but not because of the so-called end of the Cold War, but because of technological and scientific advances.
However, while the world has changed in many ways it is probably more unstable as the defenders of the status quo seek other schizophrenic "them" to posture themselves against, be it the perceived threats of Islamic extremism, regional powers that don't want to play the US game (N.Korea, Iran, Venezuela), or crusades in the name of the environment.
Exactly, western governments claimed legitimacy by their struggle against the Soviet Union, and that was such a powerful tool that it's just being applied in a different context against other enemies. Once you have a never-ending enemy to fight, it's a good time to be in a position of government or military authority. You can just ignore what laws and restrictions you don't like because the country is always at war.