nosestuff

I doubt the trade war has anything to do with that. That United States has been growing above potential for a long time, and that Europe has been unable to grow for many years, and that China has exhausted it's growth engines, have very little to do with threats of tariffs on a few electronics and grains.

The word you are looking is Soviet Russia. It's not a panacea. European Union countries would likely be as developed if they were in a single market union. Governments have the control on the population that they can afford. Poorer societies are more prone to crime, less law compliant. Poorer societies can't afford a police state.