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> However in socialist systems, the currency tends to be political power and connections. That's objectively false and its a perception that is based on the An

> However in socialist systems, the currency tends to be political power and connections. That's objectively false and its a perception that is based on the Angloamerican cold war propaganda. With all the 'power and influence', the 'elites' of Eastern Bloc did not live so much more in luxury compared to their own people. If an ordinary person got his house at the age of ~35, a party official got it a few years earlier. If an ordinary person drived an X years old car, the official drove a 4-5 year newer car. The catch is, all the citizens in the Eastern Bloc systems got their houses, cars, guaranteed jobs, education, healthcare, childcare, paid vacations, paid maternity leave, retirement and all that stuff. They were very surprised when they changed to capitalism and learned that none of those were guaranteed under capitalism. Now they have so much freedom.

chaostheory 4y ago
> With all the 'power and influence', the 'elites' of Eastern Bloc did not live so much more in luxury compared to their own people. If an ordinary person got his house at the age of ~35, a party official got it a few years earlier. If an ordinary person drived an X years old car, the official drove a 4-5 year newer car. You’ve contradicted yourself in the same comment. Besides what you wrote doesn’t fully reflect reality https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/03906700500038678?journalCode=cirs20 https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/0390670050003867... Power is much more centralized in socialist systems. Consequently, corruption spreads much faster compared to more decentralized systems like capitalism. The end results is everyone is equally poor except for high level government officials.
- unity1001 4y ago
  > You’ve contradicted yourself in the same comment. I didnt. There is absolutely no practical difference in between driving a car that came out last year and driving a 5 year old car. > Besides what you wrote doesn’t fully reflect reality Im sorry but a paper from a private American think thank does not make reality. Actual statistics do. https://www.spiegel.de/international/germany/homesick-for-a-dictatorship-majority-of-eastern-germans-feel-life-better-under-communism-a-634122.html https://www.spiegel.de/international/germany/homesick-for-a-... > Power is much more centralized in socialist systems. Consequently, corruption spreads much faster compared to more decentralized systems like capitalism Those are religious statements without any sound basis. In a capitalist system corruption is normalized in the form of the 'freedom of the property owner to do whatever he wants with his property' and 'election funding'. > The end results is everyone is equally poor except for high level government officials. Another religious statement. https://www.cnbc.com/2016/12/13/americas-dirty-little-secret-42-million-are-suffering-from-hunger.html https://www.cnbc.com/2016/12/13/americas-dirty-little-secret... Which contradicts the reality. The US is not at war. Nobody is sanctioning the US. Nobody is conducting economic warfare against the US. The US sat at the top of the world's economic system uncontested for the last 30 years. And that is the result.
  - chaostheory 4y ago
    > There is absolutely no practical difference in between driving a car that came out last year and driving a 5 year old car. Newer cars weren’t the only thing socialist kleptocrats were found to be hoarding. They had all sorts of luxury goods from the West ranging from fashion, jewelry, and even food. I don’t deny that late stage capitalism will happen or is happening as we speak, but socialism isn’t immune to corruption either. Late stage socialism also happens much sooner than late stage capitalism because power is so much more concentrated in socialist systems. We know this because we’ve had plenty of failed socialism experiments in the 20th century > Those are religious statements without any sound basis It’s ironic that you’d write this when you never offer solid facts yourself despite other commenters requesting that you provide data. My data is more valid than your little anecdotes

chaostheory 4y ago

> With all the 'power and influence', the 'elites' of Eastern Bloc did not live so much more in luxury compared to their own people. If an ordinary person got his house at the age of ~35, a party official got it a few years earlier. If an ordinary person drived an X years old car, the official drove a 4-5 year newer car. You’ve contradicted yourself in the same comment. Besides what you wrote doesn’t fully reflect reality https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/03906700500038678?journalCode=cirs20 https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/0390670050003867... Power is much more centralized in socialist systems. Consequently, corruption spreads much faster compared to more decentralized systems like capitalism. The end results is everyone is equally poor except for high level government officials.

unity1001 4y ago
> You’ve contradicted yourself in the same comment. I didnt. There is absolutely no practical difference in between driving a car that came out last year and driving a 5 year old car. > Besides what you wrote doesn’t fully reflect reality Im sorry but a paper from a private American think thank does not make reality. Actual statistics do. https://www.spiegel.de/international/germany/homesick-for-a-dictatorship-majority-of-eastern-germans-feel-life-better-under-communism-a-634122.html https://www.spiegel.de/international/germany/homesick-for-a-... > Power is much more centralized in socialist systems. Consequently, corruption spreads much faster compared to more decentralized systems like capitalism Those are religious statements without any sound basis. In a capitalist system corruption is normalized in the form of the 'freedom of the property owner to do whatever he wants with his property' and 'election funding'. > The end results is everyone is equally poor except for high level government officials. Another religious statement. https://www.cnbc.com/2016/12/13/americas-dirty-little-secret-42-million-are-suffering-from-hunger.html https://www.cnbc.com/2016/12/13/americas-dirty-little-secret... Which contradicts the reality. The US is not at war. Nobody is sanctioning the US. Nobody is conducting economic warfare against the US. The US sat at the top of the world's economic system uncontested for the last 30 years. And that is the result.
- chaostheory 4y ago
  > There is absolutely no practical difference in between driving a car that came out last year and driving a 5 year old car. Newer cars weren’t the only thing socialist kleptocrats were found to be hoarding. They had all sorts of luxury goods from the West ranging from fashion, jewelry, and even food. I don’t deny that late stage capitalism will happen or is happening as we speak, but socialism isn’t immune to corruption either. Late stage socialism also happens much sooner than late stage capitalism because power is so much more concentrated in socialist systems. We know this because we’ve had plenty of failed socialism experiments in the 20th century > Those are religious statements without any sound basis It’s ironic that you’d write this when you never offer solid facts yourself despite other commenters requesting that you provide data. My data is more valid than your little anecdotes