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For all its flaws, I'd take a democracy over the Soviets in the 80s, or CCP/North Korea today. I can't imagine what the world would have looked like if the Sovi
by jeswin 4y ago
For all its flaws, I'd take a democracy over the Soviets in the 80s, or CCP/North Korea today. I can't imagine what the world would have looked like if the Soviets had won the cold war, or if the CCP wins the next.
- darthrupert 4y ago95% of humanity would also, if they were given a fair choice and knowledge of all those systems.
- logicalmind 4y agoUnder capitalism, man exploits man. Under communism, it's just the opposite. -John Kenneth Galbraith
- scruple 4y agoThat's funny but under one of these systems the people have a hope of fixing the ineptitude and corruption. Under the other, ehhh...
- localplume 4y agocute quote, but meaningless. ask anyone who lived in a communist/ex-soviet state which is better. also why [over 100,000 citizens of east germany](https://www.berlin.de/mauer/en/history/victims-of-the-wall/ https://www.berlin.de/mauer/en/history/victims-of-the-wall/) tried to escape, many dying in their attempts. its without a doubt which is better.
- ggm 4y agoMost counterfactual fiction in this space has the repressive state continuing to be repressive and normalising "othering" of <bad people> and it's a well trodden path. Robert Harris, Len Deighton, Ira Levin, Yevgeny Zamyatin. Harry Harrison, Ward Moore. Winning under MAD is moot. There undoubtedly will be losers at scale. Historians differ if forcing the soviets to bankruptcy was necessarily better than a rapprochement. It worked, sure but like the end of ww1 gave birth to stab in the back rightist views of history, the FSU is now a kleptocracy and minor fights in Africa and the Middle east are now entrenched social cancers. Afghanistan and the role of US funds to Pakistan on the region. Not a net benefit all told.
- throwaway290 4y agoI'm Russian and I am of the same opinion.