One thing I've never been able to buy are those scenarios that have the United States win the Cold War through, get this, "economic strength." First off, all capitalist economies are good for are producing goods like weeds, with no regard to the needs of either the population or the state. You need a centralized plan in order to decide what gets produced in what year, and how to equitably distribute the finished goods. C'mon, guys, it's not exactly rocket science here.
Besides, what good can a profit margin do against good old-fashioned SS-20s?