Under the command of Ronald Reagan, the United States of America had decided that the the best way to beat the Soviets was the one thing that the USSR couldn't do, spend money. The US would play the game that the Soviets simply couldn't play back. Capitalism was used to their advantage in a huge way. A key example of this was the American involvement in the Soviet conflict with Afghanistan. The CIA gave weapons to the local militia of Afghanistan to fight off the Russian invaders. Yes this cost the US a lot of money, but every piece of equipment that the local people destroyed, cost the Russians an even bigger amount. The Russian government simply didn't have the money because of their whole ideology of communism. Where as the Americans could spend money because of Capitalism. This led to Afghanistan winning the conflict. This showed that a smaller country could stand up to the might of Mother Russia.