I’ve heard that argument and I could never make sense of it. Cool documentary to watch is “A Funny Thing Happened on The Way to the Moon”. They have the hoax right on film from the astronauts themselves. They faked the view from the ship looking at earth. I think I know why they did it but it’s too taboo for most people.

During the cold war, the space race, real or not, was able to make or break confidence that the soviet or "free market" governments was superior.

Are we not? I don't believe anyone has tried. There's just no point.