this post was submitted on 09 Mar 2025
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72% of Hungarians claim they are worse off now than under Communism according to polling data. That isn't a slim majority at all.
There's much that can be critiqued about the USSR, but Socialism remained a better system than Capitalism and Tsarism.
Yeah, I bet none of that 72% ever stood in line at the bakery, merely hoping there was still some bread left when they got to their turn. Or having to help offload PB gas bottles from the train, because otherwise it was almost guaranteed there wouldn't be gas to cook with.
As for the poll, there's a lot of complex social reasons behind it. But what I consider the most important is that we have the newest brand of authoritian government in power for the majority of the last 24 years with completely unchecked power, and the only things they are good at is corruption and brainwashing the voting populus. The last decade has been an unmitigated failure for Hungary, and despite that, it's still ahead of the communist system I grew up in. We are quickly moving back to the same authoritarian system, though.
Edit: and since our current system is very intent on replicating the mistakes of the ole' communist system in exactly the same manner, we are very much on track to implode again in the same way. Yay for us.
Seems like a lot of mental gymnastics to grapple with polling results, and vague gesturing at issues rather than actually grappling with how Socialism was better than Capitalism.
Ok, as always you try to glorify the Soviet Union despite everything, even against people whove been living in the SU. May I ask you how old you are and in which country you habe been grown up?
Despite what? What is "everything?" Polling data for Hungary states that 72% of Hungarians believe they were better off in the Soviet Union than modern Capitalism, I am siding with the people of Hungary, and against someone going against the grain in this instance.
I live in the US Empire, and I will not tell you my age and dox myself further. I don't believe that has relevance either, trying to goad people into telling you personal information and then trying to claim they must be young and naive to disagree with you when they don't answer is just rhetorical garbage.
And according to your data from hungary: Hungary is an authocratic state with an not so free press. It wouldnt surprise me, if that data is somehow corrupted. Or problematic because of an indoctrinated public.
Capitalism indeed has devastated Hungary, sharp observation from you.
So you speak for other countries as an "expert" from the other side of the world? Thats really relevant.
Further more your age has relevance by experiencing other times, with other media and a other zeitgeist.
I never once claimed to be an expert. I claimed to have facts and statistics, do you believe that facts only count if they come from the country you live in?
If person A from country X says one thing, and persons B and C from country X say the opposite, does that automatically prove A correct? It doesn't automatically prove B and C correct either, but you took issue with me pointing out that B and C disagree with A.
You lecture people on the other side of the world about theire life by quoting a statistic from a relativly unfree and authocratic state ...
I have spoken with several people from post-soviet states who lived during Socialism as well, and speak of it fondly. When all they have is anecdotes and all I have are statistics and data I can find, I end up agreeing more with the people whose opinions align with the material reality of the facts at hand.
If I were from another country, I wouldn't care much for.the opinion of a US Trump supporter who thinks Biden is a Communist.
There were a lot of people who spoke fondly about the time of the National Socialism. Even my Grandmother. A kind and wise but not well educated woman. "It wasnt all wrong" is a typical saying in this matter.
Its because if you lived your normal life, played along, looked away and were lucky - you could have had a decent life. And looking back at you past, even at the bad times, makes you forgiving and nostalgic. And forgetting, about all the bad stuff. The pressure to behave "right", the fear of getting deported or killed, the shortage of basic resources, the horror about friends or family members who werent lucky.
But a wrong word in the school, a little mistake, a wrong friend or kind heart preventing you from looking away - and your life goes to shit. Depending on the shittines of the system of your country, this could mean, Detainment, torture, sexual abuse and murder - for you, your familiy and your friends.
And a lot of states in the SU were really fucked up. Some were kind of decent without a lot of cruelties. The people in the GDR (Eastern Germany) for example were lucky, because the GDR was the advertisement state for the SU. So werent killed so easy, "just" torture and detainment. Other states werent so lucky ...
Equating fascism to Communism originates from Nazi apologia called Double Genocide Theory. The Nazis invented industrialized mass murder, whereas the Communists made dramatic strides for the Working Class, including a mass democratization of the economy, lower wealth disparity, a robust and free healthcare and education system, and more.
Essentially, you're trying to replace actual historical analysis and statistics with emotional scaremongering based on an anecdote from your Nazi-sympathizing grandmother.
Moreover, the DDR actually had it worse, it was made to pay reparations for World War II while lacking a real industrial base, which was mostly in Western Germany. The Soviet Union was devastated by the Nazi's genocidal assault on the Slavic people's they deemed inferior, and therefore couldn't afford to rapidly rebuild the DDR or financially support them as much as they would have wanted.
I recommend you take some time to read historical accounts and genuine criticisms of the Socialist system, without just vaguely gesturing at it.