Ideological competition during the era of the 20th century cold war: The political economy of persuasion with a Trojan horse

There have been revolutions, and wars have been fought over ideology. Ideological competition at the more benign level of intellectual thought involves different views and theories of the preferred organization of society. In the ideological contest between socialism and capitalism, Marxian theory is consistent with a society being best served by a command economy in a one-party state with collective property, and, for capitalism, western economic theory is expected to be consistent with societal benefits of democracy and markets. There is, however, a puzzle. Basic theories in western economics conclude that the democracy and markets of western civil society are dysfunctional. The theories were proposed by Nobel laureates and entered western economics during the era of the 20th century cold war. Asking about the sources and circumstances of the cold-war theories leads to evidence suggesting a Trojan horse in a case study of the political economy of ideological persuasion.