By the end of the “Else-world” story, Superman: Red Son, Superman has nearly taken over the Earth with his form of communism.  Steadfastly ruling out the use of force to promote his utopian vision, Superman has had enough of the U.S.A.’s and Lex Luthor’s intransigence.  Lois Lane confronts him with Leningrad under glass.  It is an apt illustration of how Superman has tried to put the world in a bottle to make it easier to control.

Economic systems are ways of coordinating economies, but no system is perfect, even if run by Superman.  They all involve some tradeoff between freedom and control.  Superman realizes his is a world of fear and control imposed from the top, and at his core Superman, communist or not, doesn’t want that. 

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