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by unity1001 1239 days ago
> You could try peddling that to those who never lived in the USSR.

https://www.reuters.com/article/us-russia-politics-sovietuni...

Those who lived there want it back.

I grew up in a country that imitated the Yugoslavian system, mixing Soviet system with social democracy. Until the country turned capitalist, directly declaring that 'free market was the best' and the objective was to become 'little America', everybody was happy. From food to education to housing, everything just worked out thanks to the state providing most of them. Including marrying and raising children. Then the 'free market' came and everything went down the same hellhole that Japan and other countries are going down into right now.

> You were at the mercy of the local party boss, one careless word could cost you your career

Wow that's so bad and its so more different than being at the mercy of your capitalist boss.

The discussion is at a 'people dont have food to eat next month and can go homeless at any time' level. Not 'my career' level. Yeah, you could lose you career and maybe get sent to somewhere in the middle of central Asia. And yet you would still have a job, house, your children would still go to school. Beats entire family working and not being able to feed their children like its in the US or outright going homeless.

> Paternity leave is something new, never have a lie that blatant.

It says 'maternity/paternity' leave in my comment. USSR had maternity leave.

...

> "Peddle"

How about you don't peddle the cold war propaganda that's 60 years old now? I grew up in a Soviet-like system, and despite I am doing FAR better at the top percentiles of my society, I would go back to that Soviet-like system in a blink so that millions would not have to suffer and go hungry and the society would not devolve into a hellhole.

Heres a frame of reference for you: Nobody is conducting economic war against the US. The US is not in an existential war. There is not global catastrophe that has been affecting the US. There is no alien invasion. No apocalypse. And yet this is the reality there:

https://www.cnbc.com/2016/12/13/americas-dirty-little-secret...

I'd much rather 'peddle' what i 'peddled' than smear what was better.

1 comments

Mate I lived there (towards the end) and heard first-hand accounts about the glorious past, from my grandfather's as privileged as a school principal for example. For the great many it literally was about constantly worrying about putting the food in the table.

People who want USSR back actually want their youth back, youth, not the time when their extended family of five lived in a one bedroom flat.

> For the great many it literally was about constantly worrying about putting the food in the table.

It was at the end. After the US got its Gulf Allies to start waging economic war against the USSR in 1980s by playing with the price of oil, while blockading it from every other angle to prevent the USSR from trading with anyone outside.

If any other country did half of that to the US, it would end up in nuclear war. The fault of the USSR was allowing its hostile enemy to strangle it step by step by avoiding confrontation.

Otherwise during 1960s Kennedy administration thought that the USSR was developing too rapidly and others would start taking it as an example, causing a 'domino effect'. Which is the basis of the 'domino theory' and the Vietnam war was its resolution - 'making example of countries who attempt to follow that model'.

Even my country in the sidelines got an economic crisis and scarcity EVERY single time it went against a US foreign policy project or US-pushed 'economic reform'. From local wars to privatizations. When those were not enough to 'persuade' the governments to do what they were told, coups did the work. The last one hanged 10,000 and the government that it put into power started privatizing the living daylights of the country. The stock market started breaking records. Whereas a lot of people started eating less, some having to eat from garbage. Therefore:

> People who want USSR back actually want their youth back, youth, not the time when their extended family of five lived in a one bedroom flat.

No people just want their better, worry-free, non-overworked lives back. In the former USSR, in East Germany, and in every other country that got US backed 'free market'. If you aren't able to get into the top 10% in such a system, you are literally hosed. Those who made it into that segment think that 'everything is better' because now they are shielded from the poverty that plagues the rest of their society. Whereas for the troubled majority, there is no comparing guaranteed jobs, guaranteed housing, healthcare, childcare, education, retirement and all that to any 'freedom' that comes with the new system.

As I said, Im doing quite comfortably in this system. But, for the sake of the majority, I would happily go back to that system so that people wouldnt have to overwork and still not be able to feed their children without anyone waging an economic war or even an actual war against the country.

This is bullshit, plain and simple.
Calling the reality 'bullshit' does not make the reality go away. Here's some of that reality.

https://www.cnbc.com/2016/12/13/americas-dirty-little-secret...

https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2020/jan/07/americans-he....