Interesting article on the cover of the Los Angeles Times today:

For all the respect I have for capitalism, it is worth noting that what is perhaps the ultimate measure of success of a society, namely in matters of life and death, the fall of the Iron Curtain and move to democracy and capitalism has had a stark effect on Russia to date, with death rates rising sharply, birth rates dropping abruptly, and no signs of recovery fully 15 years after the collapse of the Soviet Union. And while it is possible that this is due to the transition, 15 years is no negligible time frame, and that's a lot of Russians that have died so far. And most Russians were not in great shape during the time of the Czars before communism either. Is it possible that capitalism is not the best system for every society on Earth? That remote villages far away from each other in a harsh climate don't have the population density necessary to ensure that the market provides for all of society's needs, making some sort of planning and coordination beneficial?