I try to keep it relevant as to the thread. Cyberpunk has an interesting alternative history starting after WWII. Most of it reflects crises that occurred in real life, but resolved differently.
The USSR and communism still falls, but takes a different path. The USSR in Cyberpunk went from Union of Soviet Socialist Republics to Union of Sovereign Soviet Republics, a capitalism with strong central state institutions (maintained by SovOil). They don't even need to change any signs. They also successfully form strong bonds with the European Economic Community since the EEC quits NATO.
The European Economic Community is not beholden to the US, so Europe probably survived WWII in better condition. This plays out as EEC defying US interests. The EEC leaves NATO, rejects the US dollar for the Eurodollar, builds close ties to the USSR, and even fights back against US espionage and conduct counter espionage. The big reason for the US collapse in 90s is the Gang of Four's (CIA, NSA, FBI, DEA) plan of hacking EEC and Asian markets blowing up in their face.
Cyberpunk's notorious corporate wars take off with the Gang of Four's defeat. The US president and military fight to end the gang once they discover their massive embezzlement, acting independently from democratically elected officials, and responsibility for many of the country's recent disasters. The Gang of Four is crushed by the US military, but it's members flee to corporations in the US and abroad. These émigrés bring their espionage tactics with them, leading to more corporations employing espionage and mercenaries outside of government control, e.g. the corporate wars.
Also, here's an aphorism that's not too thread relevant, but I like reading about food, so meh.
communism: high quality plombir ice cream for the masses and socializing
capitalism: frozen dairy dessert that legally cannot be called ice cream
