You mean like negotiating their pay, changing their employer or even the city they lived in? Those simple things were completely impossible under communism: the only employer was The State and you needed papers to move.
Of course things were different if you were part of the nomenklatura (leading party) or the secret police. You were a winner in communism then.
Of course it was, but I am not talking about possibilities, but more on the probabilities side, just to point out:
In a socialist regime, job assignments are made by the state. The state controls most industries and companies, and is responsible for assigning jobs to citizens. However, there may be corruption in the system where individuals in positions of power use their influence to give jobs and favors. It's important to note that the reality of socialist systems can vary significantly depending on the country or region in question and may have different characteristics than described.
But the basics of the corruption system is the same. In fact, low level officials traded jobs, cigarettes, food, for sex if it was a woman who wanted a favor or a job, and rubles if they were males, there are accounts of men giving their wives in order to obtain promotions, jobs, or moving to a another city.
In Venezuela as an example, or Cuba, it happens the same. Citizens don't deal with the State, they deal with low level officials who have the veto power. Basically you become a slave.
> In a socialist regime, job assignments are made by the state.
In a socialist system, the workers exercise control of the means of production, and, as a consequence, of industry.
There are models of socialism where this control is exercised centrally through the state, but it is controversial within socialism. It is widely known because a branch of socialist theory that attempted to adapt Marxist theory (itself one particular corner of socialism) to avoid capitalist development as a prerequisite was influential with groups that haf some success establishing control of various states and implemented it, but it is not the only model of socialism.
So, yes, in the USSR this is a (gross simplification of) the system, but it is not general to “socialism”.
> In a socialist regime, job assignments are made by the state
This is a generic and oversimplified statement that does not apply to Soviet Union. Its history is divided into several periods in some of which mobility of workforce was severely restricted (1940—1956), but not most of the time. You only had to have work, but moving to a different job or different city was certainly possible with 2 weeks notice period (in modern Germany typical contract requires 3 months notice). Some HR departments in manufacturing even had to solve the retention problem due to high churn.
If you want to study history, do not go to nearby book store, read real historians instead.
It is not the same. In capitalists countries, you have options, and new options come out each time someone wants to control the wage, and it's not a problem of the capitalist system but the goverments setting up mininum wage and other controls that kills free market. In socialists regimes there is no options and no chance to even discuss raises with your employers. If you got to Cuba, NK or any other similar country you will see how well prepared people is working on mundane jobs, by force, I've been there and I've been taken from my hotel to airport by a driver in Cuba that he was a doctor. Tell me how these systems will be pro-science if you cannot have access to the best of the technology, market, literature, etc.
Ask your average min wage service worker how much freedom they actually feel they have
Communism sucking does not magically make USA style capitalism a magical utopian paradise where everyone has a private yacht. Sure between the two i'd definitely pick usa - hands down, but lets not pretend that the average worker in usa can just dictate what their wages will be.
He doesn't have any option because the market is regulated. In unregulated market he can move to a better paying position, it always happens like this. Just look the IT market, the moment you're feeling you're not well paid you find out someone else who will pay you more, until you reach a line.
They had options in the East Bloc countries too, it was just that they were limited by who you knew rather than how rich you were.
And I totally agree that being at the mercy of someone you have to ask permission, can be every inch as dispiriting being at the mercy of a person who can set a price.
Oh no. It doesn't even compare. The current "price" is set by the free market and it can be met, negotiated or worked for. It's clear and it's fair even if sometimes steep.
But asking for permission was dehumanizing. You ass belonged to them afterwards. Like asking for a favor from the mob. You were a slave. They were the aristocracy and you were less than dirt.
Of course things were different if you were part of the nomenklatura (leading party) or the secret police. You were a winner in communism then.