AmericanThinker-
Young Russians said that they were so happy they could move freely and work outside Russia – under the USSR, they weren’t. They also liked be paid a higher salary; and the ability to return to Russia to have a better life for their families. In Kazakhstan, I have had Kazakhs tell me various stories under Soviet socialism versus the preferred lifestyle they enjoy today, too. One woman said that her mother never saw a banana until she was 19 years old, post-Soviet Union.
Another said her mother craved apples during pregnancy yet one apple was 10% of her husband’s monthly salary. The old capital, Almaty, literally means “apple” and under natural conditions, they are abundant. But they are not abundant under socialism. Another said that her father, an electrical engineer, was paid in eggs, glass jars (like Mason), rice, and other commodities during Soviet times. He would then have to barter with those items for other food.
Without a doubt, everyone said Party must come first if you wanted to be treated “well.” Most despised this treatment, but they said they knew they had to toe the line. A grandmother of one of my employees told me how she loved capitalism and choices whether it be food, clothing, or a place to live. She said she would never revert to socialism. She did not like looking over her shoulder to monitor whether she was sufficiently obedient to the party line.
Even though everyone was supposedly equal and had to pull their own weight, it always amounted to some more equal than others. Lo and behold, people who had to live under these kinds of socialism earlier now had prized items such as vodka, which was rare outside the mother country.
Free market capitalism is the natural economic result of liberty.
Any other economic system requires coercion. Always.
Plus, Fred Hayek won his Nobel Economics prize in part by proving that a free market is the most efficient means of using and consuming resources. Always.
But having so many choices is the disgusting byproduct of an environmentally damaging, materialistic, consumer culture.
Yuck!
How bad must a system be that even apple trees don’t work.
Socialists pedal their lies with this false impression that “the grass is greener on the other side” because they are pandering to spoiled children who have never really had to want for anything (of course they never have enough) and aren’t smart enough to know it!
Before talking about how wonderful Socialism is, they need to listen very carefully to people who have been there and done that.
A wise man once said: God gave you two ears and one mouth for a reason. You need to listen twice as much as you speak!!
America, where even poor people are fat.
During their last 20 years or so under communism the
government allowed the collective farmers to have
“private plots”. These were allowed to families and
were mostly less than one acre. These were “Intensively”
farmed and the produce was sold in the town markets.
The dirty little secret the commisars kept to themselves
was that these tiny capitalistic enterprises provided
well over half of all the food the USSR produced.
My wife was born in Ust-Kamenogorsk, Kazakhstan and lived there under Soviet rule until the fall of the Soviet Union and afterward when Kazakhstan had gained it’s independence. She came to America in 2004 to marry me. She became a US citizen in 2008. You couldn’t drag her back to Kazakhstan with a thousand bulldozers. You can’t imagine the level of corruption those people have to endure. For instance, if you need to see a doctor for a serious medical issue and need a referral, you’d better bring a very nice gift to the doctor such as expensive chocolates or quality cognac or your referral just won’t happen. If you think the government is going to pay for your surgery, think again.
There’s a breathtaking amount of literature out there documenting the benefits of capitalism over any other system. The problem isn’t lack of documentation, the problem is there are far too many scoundrels who are in influential positions Like teachers,professors etc} that paint a rosy picture of socialism for the purposes of control.
These coercive acts should treated exactly like sedition.