The deepening economic crisis caused a marked deterioration in quality of life of ordinary citizens and resulted in increasing political instability. Rationing and queuing became a way of life, with ration cards (kartki) necessary to buy consumer staples. The ration cards were utilized by the government in order to avoid allowing market regulation of income and prices and thus risking social unrest. As Western institutions were no longer willing to extend credit to the de facto bankrupt Polish government, access to goods that the Poles needed became even more restricted.
Martial law had to be declared.
Capitalism is freedom. Everything the state gives you can be taken away.
Rationing and queuing have been way overstated. The most you had to wait was an hour, and I spend just as much time in the grocery store. What's the difference between waiting in line and being handed what you want and going through the store and getting it yourself? Martial law wasn't because of protests over the lack of material goods, but repression of Polish Nationalism and the Papacy.
Life under the U.S.S.R. was great for many party favored individuals just so long as they never got caught publicly complaining about anything. Communists love to claim that no one owns anything, and obviously it can be taken away by the state, but the occupant of a large family house certainly "owns" it more than the people living in the one room tenements while grinding away at physical labor because they weren't picked by the state to go to college.
It's funny that you mention corporatism, because that's exactly what the USA actually has and is at the root of most of the problems communists typically ascribe to capitalism. Corporatism is just another variant of collectivism just like communism and fascism.
Collectivism is collectivism is collectivism. It gets renamed and rebranded all the time, but in the end it always means that an oligarchy of party elites gets to decide what individuals have to do based on the oligarchy's determination of "greater good".
It doesn't look like the current crop of Poles like communism very much. In fact, none of the people who lived through communism seem to like it very much. Maybe you would be better off defecting to North Korea or China so that they can take care of you, since you don't seem to want to do it for yourself.
Communism is most popular in nations which tried it once. Nations that aren't Communist anymore have elections in which Communist and Socialist parties consistently get a majority of votes. Ukraine's Communist party got 40% of the vote in 1999. The German Communist Party is most popular in former East Germany.
Even then, nations such as Poland, the Baltic states, and Central Europe have welfare systems which are just as generous as under Communism.
Poland has had the same welfare system for 70 years at this point, and that welfare system is just as large in the rest of the developed world. They still haven't run out of money. The US is the only industrialized nation in which basic needs aren't guaranteed by the state.
Yes, when you have an economy in which over 80% of its production is tailored to non-essential and useless consumer goods you tend to be "richer" while being completely debased otherwise.
The eastern bloc would still be a thing if it was as great as you describe.
Communism is in fact great for a lot of people. Look at all the rich Chinese exchange kids crashing brand new BMWs that they bought with CCP money.
The Eastern Bloc may not exist, but Poland and the Baltic states have welfare systems which are just as generous as under Communism.
It literally collapsed.
Martial law had to be declared.
Capitalism is freedom. Everything the state gives you can be taken away.
The state creates nothing. Everything it gives away, it has already taken by force, or the threat of force, from another.
The USSR is completely responsible for starting space travel.
Wrong.
Rationing and queuing have been way overstated. The most you had to wait was an hour, and I spend just as much time in the grocery store. What's the difference between waiting in line and being handed what you want and going through the store and getting it yourself? Martial law wasn't because of protests over the lack of material goods, but repression of Polish Nationalism and the Papacy.
Life under the U.S.S.R. was great for many party favored individuals just so long as they never got caught publicly complaining about anything. Communists love to claim that no one owns anything, and obviously it can be taken away by the state, but the occupant of a large family house certainly "owns" it more than the people living in the one room tenements while grinding away at physical labor because they weren't picked by the state to go to college.
It's funny that you mention corporatism, because that's exactly what the USA actually has and is at the root of most of the problems communists typically ascribe to capitalism. Corporatism is just another variant of collectivism just like communism and fascism.
Collectivism is collectivism is collectivism. It gets renamed and rebranded all the time, but in the end it always means that an oligarchy of party elites gets to decide what individuals have to do based on the oligarchy's determination of "greater good".
It doesn't look like the current crop of Poles like communism very much. In fact, none of the people who lived through communism seem to like it very much. Maybe you would be better off defecting to North Korea or China so that they can take care of you, since you don't seem to want to do it for yourself.
Communism is most popular in nations which tried it once. Nations that aren't Communist anymore have elections in which Communist and Socialist parties consistently get a majority of votes. Ukraine's Communist party got 40% of the vote in 1999. The German Communist Party is most popular in former East Germany.
Even then, nations such as Poland, the Baltic states, and Central Europe have welfare systems which are just as generous as under Communism.
1999 is a long way off. And with what we see today, did the communist party really get those votes? Or was is ballot stuffing and fraud?
Regardless, people don't seem to want to migrate to the communist countries. Not much of a real estate market in Caracas lately. Not in Kiev either.
The only "socialist" countries that are doing well are the hypercapitalist ones with generous welfare programs.
Cool. You should find a communist country to move them to. So they can be happy.
Which means the 30% of GDP of the USSR was worth less than the 5% of the US.
Obviously a commie wouldn't understand this.
Maybe because the economy was tailored towards manufacturing necessary supplies and not Youtooz?
Because eventually you run out of other people’s money.
Poland has had the same welfare system for 70 years at this point, and that welfare system is just as large in the rest of the developed world. They still haven't run out of money. The US is the only industrialized nation in which basic needs aren't guaranteed by the state.
You act like this is a good thing. Why should the state guarantee basic needs?
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You're right, they do. Poland's welfare system is just as generous as when it was Communist.
Yes, when you have an economy in which over 80% of its production is tailored to non-essential and useless consumer goods you tend to be "richer" while being completely debased otherwise.