[ghqst]

the biggest argument against this is that communist countries still achieve great things in the face of MASSIVE setbacks and sanctions from capitalist countries with lots of power. Yet after an initial period of food insecurity, these nations tend to do great for a while. For example, the CIA reported that the Soviet diet had less calories and was more nutritious than the American diet.

[Blackstrat]

In 1980, the average life expectancy of a man in Russia was 62.5 years. Women about 10 years longer. In other words, less than the average life expectancy of each gender in the US. According to the journal "Alcohol and Alcoholism", the life expectancy improved by a couple of years in the 90s but subsequently fell back to Soviet Union levels. The aggregate life expectancy bottomed out in 2003 (UN Statistics) and has since improved to about 73 (average of men & women). That's #35 on the list of similar countries, trailing countries like Mexico and Iran. The aggregate life expectancy in the US is above 79. These are all from the UN Population Prospects 2022 Report. You can check them yourselves. Finally, are we supposed to trust the CIA?

[wahnfrieden]

i don't know why you're all arguing about marxist-leninist state communism in a thread about anarchism. of course it's bad and does not work. that's what the link i shared says.

[y0ssar1an]

lol Stalin killed 20 million people through direct executions, the Gulag, and famine, but how bout those yummy nutrients?!

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Excess_mortality_in_the_Soviet...

I'm sure the millions of Ukrainians who were forcibly starved during the Holodomor really appreciated the low calorie diets supplied by the USSR.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Holodomor

Characterizing the forcible starvation of millions as "a period of food insecurity" is peak techie-communism for me. Thanks for the laugh! :)