I get the ancient fervour and hype of Soviet Glory; but in the end all the participants were rascals, nearly all the countries and regimes, and the fighters themselves.
Looked at in the clear light of day, was not Chiang a vile despot ? ( maybe distinguished from the others by that even more inordinate George Washington type greed that approaches pathological status ) for all the freedom he brought, and he was rather the rule amongst world leaders back then rather than the exception.
His, and their, ideologies were simple mixtures of nationalism and economics purposed to increase the wealth of each ruling class. The hype was simple-minded flattery 'Democracy !' 'Freedom !' 'Anti-Imperialism !' 'Religion !' to get the lower classes to smash the lower classes of other rivals. And the Gulag remains.
