[alive-or-not]

You keep repeating that socialism doesn't work. In the period 1928 - 1934 the socialist USSR went from an agrarian country, devastated by wars to world's second industrial power. Sent the first satellite into space, first man, first space station. To this date the socialist build russian space industry is the best in the world. USSR has made a huge amount of contributions in science as well. Other socialist countries - e.g. Bulgaria - have enjoined rapid increase in industrial output, standard of living and literacy rates when going from capitalism to socialism.

[LekkoscPiwa]

It doesn't work in terms of making live of a regular person better. Your argument is akin to saying North Korea is a better place to live than Germany because North Korea can put satellites on the orbits and develop nuclear weapons. Surely it must be more advanced! In some ways, I'm sure it is, but my question to you is this: at what cost? 30 milion dead to indutrialize USSR. That was the cost. In communism individual is nothing. They will sacrifice millions on the alter of having this industrialization done.

Bulgaria example: all satellite countries in the soviet block, and I underline again all of them, were developing more slowly and had much, much worse living conditions than their Western counter-parts at all time from 1945 forwards. Just compare Eastern to Western Germany. So, don't rewrite history, communism was one that made people sick of the poverty and revolt in Eastern Europe.

On the other hand, I agree with you, that post 1989 Eastern Europe is developing slower than we would have hoped for. However, in mu humble opinion, and that's just opinion, this is because of following still socialism. Free housing, free healthcare, free this and that. People in Eastern Europe live in socialist not capitalist states. Moreover, more often than not, the "capitalization" process done by "liberals" in Eastern Europe was just simply stealing the whole industries by ex-communistic elites together with guys who are currently in power. These are very corrupt states. I like to compare my own country - Poland - to Mexico. You know Mexico has had "capitalism" for a long time. But it is not a real capitalism. People there believe in free stuff, they vote for free stuff, and they don't like or trust free market economy. This causes corruption which in turn makes them permanently poor. I think Eastern Europe is a bit like Latin America. They don't have true capitalism but some kind of a corrupt states that just failed. Adding EU socialism on top of that kind of pushes things in the right direction in my opinion - from post-communistic mentality towards more modern, western, socialists - but it is still socialism.