USSR back then and all the currently "democratic" societies now are more than happy to support projects that show everyone how much better they are than the "other guys" but when it comes to actually improving the life of non-elite, all the elite-led societies (all of the current and past societies) seem to fail for some reason. I wonder why.
> when it comes to actually improving the life of non-elite, all the elite-led societies (all of the current and past societies) seem to fail for some reason
They haven't failed, it has been exactly the opposite. Which is of course why the global immigration magnet is so incredibly strong toward those nations.
Those societies, the more affluent democratic ones you refer to, have been hyper progressive and prosperous for the average person since the WW2 era.
A middle class person since ~1950-1960 in Austria, Germany, France, Britain, Sweden, Denmark, Finland, Norway, the US, Canada, the Netherlands, Switzerland, Belgium, Ireland, Slovenia, Japan, Singapore, Australia, New Zealand (and numerous others) - have largely led quite comfortable lives compared to what it was like in the past. Life has gotten better in most every regard if you're in those nations vs pre WW2.
You can even watch this progress happen in rapid fashion, in eg the Baltics or the former Czechoslovakia, as they're quickly joining the more affluent tier post Soviet rule. The same is true in South Korea, China, Taiwan in terms of non-elite progress. The progress by the non-elites in those nations has been breathtaking over a very short period of time (30-40 years).
