The ruling class of capitalism no longer had to even try to behave out of fear of the USSR anymore.

"What would happen if capital succeeded in smashing the Republic of Soviets? There would set in an era of the blackest reaction in all the capitalist and colonial countries, the working class and the oppressed peoples would be seized by the throat, the positions of international communism would be lost."

😭

Neoliberalism literally results in brain rot.

The primary incentive for the state to nurture a strong, skilled and educated labour force is to build an highly industrialized, high-value society; without that, the education and worldview, therefore, dignity, of the populace is thrown into the trash bin and allowed to decay. Some of the decay translates into what some may view as decadence.