Yeah, the soviet system was bullshit. I’ve never lived in it and only read about it, but from i can tell, it wasn’t good.
I believe that in soviet times, less wealth flowed to the top, but that’s mostly because there was less wealth to start with. People suffered and lived in poverty, and according to communist propaganda, it’s more important to ensure that the “people at the top” don’t have too much instead of assuring that the people at the bottom don’t have too little. I see it exactly the other way around.
Also i think that the “top-down” approach of making a very strong central government that controls all aspects of life through surveillance is exactly the wrong way to approach the problem of how to live a good life. Power over other people always leads to problems, because people group A will say how people group B shall live, while also not understanding the situation of group B or lacking context. Only the people themselves can meaningfully rule themselves.
I believe that in soviet times, less wealth flowed to the top, but that’s mostly because there was less wealth to start with
Wealth inequality in Tsarist Russia was infinitely higher than in Soviet times, and the country was much poorer. So no, that’s not the reason. The reason was ideology and politics.
People suffered and lived in poverty
People in the tsarist empire up to 1917 died at the ripe age of 28. By the 1960s, life expectancy had risen to almost 70 years of age. The country went from being a feudal backwater composed of 80% peasants in 1929, to being the second world power by the 1970s, with universal healthcare, free education to the highest level, the abolition of unemployment and homelessness, and the least wealth inequality the region has ever seen. The GDP levels reached by the late 80s weren’t recovered until the 2010s in most post-Soviet republics, and even now some of them like Ukraine never fully recovered from the devastation of the return to capitalism.
Yeah, the soviet system was bullshit. I’ve never lived in it and only read about it, but from i can tell, it wasn’t good.
I believe that in soviet times, less wealth flowed to the top, but that’s mostly because there was less wealth to start with. People suffered and lived in poverty, and according to communist propaganda, it’s more important to ensure that the “people at the top” don’t have too much instead of assuring that the people at the bottom don’t have too little. I see it exactly the other way around.
Also i think that the “top-down” approach of making a very strong central government that controls all aspects of life through surveillance is exactly the wrong way to approach the problem of how to live a good life. Power over other people always leads to problems, because people group A will say how people group B shall live, while also not understanding the situation of group B or lacking context. Only the people themselves can meaningfully rule themselves.
Wealth inequality in Tsarist Russia was infinitely higher than in Soviet times, and the country was much poorer. So no, that’s not the reason. The reason was ideology and politics.
People in the tsarist empire up to 1917 died at the ripe age of 28. By the 1960s, life expectancy had risen to almost 70 years of age. The country went from being a feudal backwater composed of 80% peasants in 1929, to being the second world power by the 1970s, with universal healthcare, free education to the highest level, the abolition of unemployment and homelessness, and the least wealth inequality the region has ever seen. The GDP levels reached by the late 80s weren’t recovered until the 2010s in most post-Soviet republics, and even now some of them like Ukraine never fully recovered from the devastation of the return to capitalism.