So then what kind of benchmark are you using, exactly, to state that Stalinism had major advantages over other forms of commerce and government?
The same argument you are giving about the negative impact of wars and GDP in Russia/USSR could be applied to Western Europe as well. The difference would be that Western Europe had much, much, MUCH faster growth post-WW2 than Russia did, despite being in the middle of all the fighting (whereas Russia had far more land that wasn't damaged in the war). Furthermore, what resources does Japan or South Korea have that China does? Why are they so much better off? You can do a line item comparison of every Warsaw Pact nation and see that large amounts of government control have had atrocious effects on the results of national growth.
Back from the dead, I'm afraid.
