If <company product> is so good why do they spend so much money on marketing?

Information is not self recommending. There's a lot going on in the world, attention is scarce. Moreso today than ever before, but it's been true for a long time.

China is doing propaganda. Russia is doing propaganda. Iran is doing propaganda. That's life, play the game or lose.

This is like sales and marketing, idealists think you can build the perfect product and it will sell itself. It won't. It's an adversarial marketplace and you have to show the world what you did, against people who are trying to tear you down.

I just left Reddit, where a Cuban that moved to America is hosting an AMA.

It’s incredible. The guy seems to be giving brutally real opinions, the good and the bad, and telling his life’s story. Reddit readers ( admitting they’ve never been to Cuba ) try to shout him down and tell him what he should be thinking.

It’d be nice to hear more first hand stories like that.

It is an arms race just like any other. Country A says "we're the best", country B says "Country A is a bunch of liars, look at us", country C says "in contrast to the clear propaganda coming from A and B the truth is that we've found the answer to every question", A counters with "B does nasty things to ${ethnic_group}", B says "C stole every answer from us", C says "A and B are ruled by geriatric know-nothings", etc. Propagandists are going to propagandise no matter whether they're in a representational republic, a democracy, a constitutional monarchy, an oligarchy or a dictatorship. Some of the propaganda is closer to the truth than other but it is still propaganda.

> If the American system is so good

Putin doesn't plaster Europe with propaganda because he thinks the Russian system is good. He does it for power. And if your system is that good, propaganda is effective.