> I'm pretty sure Romania was a more modern place than China was before WW2, so imposing a Communist system was a step backwards My father would strongly disag

> I'm pretty sure Romania was a more modern place than China was before WW2, so imposing a Communist system was a step backwards My father would strongly disagree. Communists paid for his education from elementary school and up to college, and made sure he didn't end up doing small scale agriculture like his parents and grandparents. Before 1940 Romania did have some industry, capital and civilization, true. But if counted by either population or area, a supermajority was simply subsistence agriculture. Communists razed it down, built industry and mechanized agriculture in its place, and crammed people into cities and towns. I'd guess that up to the early 70s it was actually a force for progress, even if only for breaking up old power structures. After that it was the usual trade-off - less appliances, electronics and luxury goods, but a more relaxed and secure life style. Until 1980, when rumor has it that Ceausescu visited North Korea and fell in love with it. After that things changed, he pushed strongly for full debt payment, and the population suffered.