Of course, look at Russia – much much better: free education, free healthcare, no corruption, material resources are used for everyone’s benefit etc etc.
Stalin’s Russia? How old do you think I am? There was time after 1953, you know?
The fact is most of the Russians today are in much worse condition than they were during the Soviet Union and according to polls they know that too. Even the younger generation that never knew “socialism” is not too enthused about wild capitalism.
Was Stalin’s Russia a Communist Russia? Was Russia at any point a Communist country? Should we abandon the ideal of communism because one country half-assedly tried it and failed at it? Surely if that was our model, capitalism should have been abandoned long time ago!
In any case, the conversation shouldn’t really be: you have a choice, Stalin’s Russia (1930-1953) or Putin’s Russia…
What is it that will make communism different this time? There must be something demonstrable for people to accept its worth trying considering the risks.
Your question implies that communism already happened in the past, that Stalinism is somehow a tendency of communist, not a totalitarian aberration common to any oppressive regime.
But how about the usual stuff? Abolition of private property, free education and health care, democracy and freedom of speech, honest elections, no professional politicians and oppressive bureaucratic apparatuses, less work and more culture, income equality and so on. General prosperity and happiness – what’s wrong with that?
I know this is old, but there is an ambiguity here.
On the one hand, we don’t call the USSR ‘really communist’, on the other, the USSR has a pretty good record on all sorts of issues I consider important – gay rights, equality, employment, etc.
I’ve never quite known whether to disclaim the USSR {because, obviously, a communist country shouldn’t have purges, and the USSR did), or to try and defend it against some of the more stupid claims that go around {like the one I see all the time, that 100 million people died in the Soviet Union, which doesn’t make any demographic sense).
Perverse Egalitarianism 
Shit so far ME
Shouldn’t have broken that Lenin statue!
At least better than communism?
Of course, look at Russia – much much better: free education, free healthcare, no corruption, material resources are used for everyone’s benefit etc etc.
You’re not going to say you’d rather live in Russia now than Stalins Russia are you?
Stalin’s Russia? How old do you think I am? There was time after 1953, you know?
The fact is most of the Russians today are in much worse condition than they were during the Soviet Union and according to polls they know that too. Even the younger generation that never knew “socialism” is not too enthused about wild capitalism.
Was Stalin’s Russia a Communist Russia? Was Russia at any point a Communist country? Should we abandon the ideal of communism because one country half-assedly tried it and failed at it? Surely if that was our model, capitalism should have been abandoned long time ago!
In any case, the conversation shouldn’t really be: you have a choice, Stalin’s Russia (1930-1953) or Putin’s Russia…
What is it that will make communism different this time? There must be something demonstrable for people to accept its worth trying considering the risks.
Your question implies that communism already happened in the past, that Stalinism is somehow a tendency of communist, not a totalitarian aberration common to any oppressive regime.
But how about the usual stuff? Abolition of private property, free education and health care, democracy and freedom of speech, honest elections, no professional politicians and oppressive bureaucratic apparatuses, less work and more culture, income equality and so on. General prosperity and happiness – what’s wrong with that?
I know this is old, but there is an ambiguity here.
On the one hand, we don’t call the USSR ‘really communist’, on the other, the USSR has a pretty good record on all sorts of issues I consider important – gay rights, equality, employment, etc.
I’ve never quite known whether to disclaim the USSR {because, obviously, a communist country shouldn’t have purges, and the USSR did), or to try and defend it against some of the more stupid claims that go around {like the one I see all the time, that 100 million people died in the Soviet Union, which doesn’t make any demographic sense).