I think you're off base. I absolutely agree that western intellectuals and Fabian Socialists would have supported both China and the Soviet Union... but to call them Client States is utter nonsense.
One thing you've got to realize is that Russia was almost destined to be a Super Power in the 20th century by virtue of natural resource wealth alone. It was long suspected by European powers that their two major contenders in the 20th century would be Russia and the US. It wasn't clear in the 1800's who would win, but it was clear that both would absolutely surpass Europe, and that Russia could absolutely out-pace the US if they could get their shit together. This is one of the primary reasons Germany was dead set on waging war against Russia prior to WW1. They knew a war against Russia would be inevitable.
Whatever international support Russia or China may have gotten from the west, it absolutely wasn't enough for them to maintain power on that alone, and both states had more than enough potential to be independent of Europe & the US.
The communist system is unable to capitalize on it's resources. The countries have plenty enough resources to be super powers, but communism is a force of entropy itself. The parties of both countries would have collapsed if forced to be independent.
Communist systems are unable to fully capitalize on all of their resources. What all authoritarian systems do is decrease total efficiency so that they can concentrate on specific efforts. We can talk all day about the fact that Communist economics are bad, but there is a reason that Soviet tanks, SAM weapons, and rocket engines were absolutely stellar: it came at the cost of everyone else, including all other countries within their sphere of influence. China is exactly the same way, they've dominated the entire market in electronics manufacturing by parasitizing Free Economic Zones, and colonizing swaths of the rest of the world.
These countries were not able to be controlled by the left, and the western leftists were regarded with contempt by their Soviet & Maoist comrades. In fact, for western leftists, it's pretty clear that it was the soviet's holding the leash in that relationship, not the other way around.
I think you're off base. I absolutely agree that western intellectuals and Fabian Socialists would have supported both China and the Soviet Union... but to call them Client States is utter nonsense.
One thing you've got to realize is that Russia was almost destined to be a Super Power in the 20th century by virtue of natural resource wealth alone. It was long suspected by European powers that their two major contenders in the 20th century would be Russia and the US. It wasn't clear in the 1800's who would win, but it was clear that both would absolutely surpass Europe, and that Russia could absolutely out-pace the US if they could get their shit together. This is one of the primary reasons Germany was dead set on waging war against Russia prior to WW1. They knew a war against Russia would be inevitable.
Whatever international support Russia or China may have gotten from the west, it absolutely wasn't enough for them to maintain power on that alone, and both states had more than enough potential to be independent of Europe & the US.
The communist system is unable to capitalize on it's resources. The countries have plenty enough resources to be super powers, but communism is a force of entropy itself. The parties of both countries would have collapsed if forced to be independent.
Communist systems are unable to fully capitalize on all of their resources. What all authoritarian systems do is decrease total efficiency so that they can concentrate on specific efforts. We can talk all day about the fact that Communist economics are bad, but there is a reason that Soviet tanks, SAM weapons, and rocket engines were absolutely stellar: it came at the cost of everyone else, including all other countries within their sphere of influence. China is exactly the same way, they've dominated the entire market in electronics manufacturing by parasitizing Free Economic Zones, and colonizing swaths of the rest of the world.
These countries were not able to be controlled by the left, and the western leftists were regarded with contempt by their Soviet & Maoist comrades. In fact, for western leftists, it's pretty clear that it was the soviet's holding the leash in that relationship, not the other way around.