[yesenadam]

So you see all those places as having "too much equality"? And that, particularly, caused lack of innovation which made them too static?

[tatersolid]

Yes. There was essentially zero upward economic mobility in those societies, except for the party elite. When only 0.001% of your society has any possibility of bettering their circumstances, innovation stagnates.

It is still true that most anybody can get rich in a capitalist economy if they’re some combination of smart, hard-working, or lucky. This causes lots of people to try.