@@tovarisch3039 You think with income taxes plus property, sales and other taxes by the end of the day there is more left in your purse than in Sweden???
Would like to hear how to improve capitalism. We have many homeless, USSR had almost zero. I had a wisdom tooth pulled with no anesthetic when I was in college. We have the greatest income gap. College students are drowning in debt. What about recession, and bank bailouts? Should we just say we have it better than Russia and that’s it?
@@mryhdy6266 what happens if you get cancer? How much is left in your purse in the US? Or your parent has to go to a convalescent home? Chronic disease? Lose your job? Have a child? How much is left then?
@@annann2000 The goal is to present a false diachotomy rather than to find a solution in the middle. If we lump any move to the left as SOVIET UNION, rather than, idk, Canada, Sweden, or really any other European country, then we can keep the status quo and keep the billionaires happy.
How "lucky" they are?? Our country is a dumpster fire, not unlike the rest of the world. I suggest you come out of your hole every once in awhile to check it out.
My experience as a younger adult, I was 24 when Lithuania expelled the Soviet occupation and restored Independence. Russians definitely considered themselves superior to being merely just Soviet citizens. They were not discouraged in this attitude. If you considered yourself a Soviet Citizen and not Russian you were happily collaborating with the Russian occupation. Everyone else saw themselves as Soviet subjects. Subjected to Soviet power and forced by circumstance to comply or face severe consequences. I am an economist of a kind too. But I do not consider the Soviet Union to have been a socialist country. Marx would certainly not have recognised it as communist. It more resembled the economy of an open prison and the Party the guards. I was one of many thousands who faced the KGB interior ministry troops on the streets of Vilnius in 1991. Also one of those injured. I helped carry away people hit by machine gun fire. I remember the darkness the cold the screams the shouting. When the tanks fired blank shells point blank range I lost hearing from the concussion. My old army coat from that night has the blood stains. Mines and others. Just get the idea I was never a happy little Soviet. But much of what this woman has claimed about that mess of a country is distorted. Life was poor, there were shortages in manufactured goods, but before the end food sufficient, relatively good and healthy. Crops were seasonal and apart from refrigeration there was little preservation. Preserved food was dried smoked or pickled. Sometimes quiet boring. In Lithuania it was always plentiful. Culturally people eat rye breads which stay good for up to 12 days. So you only bought it maybe once a week. You were given days based on surname. The annoyance being everyone went to buy on the first day of your three days in the week. That caused queues and they ran out of the day's bake. Go on the third day, no queue and plenty on the shelf. People are just Black Friday style stupid sometimes. It was a system not a very well run one. In the last couple of years it started to come apart. The last year or really few months when the low oil price meant the State ran out of foreign cash, it collapsed. In cities people struggled with irregular deliveries. I never saw any of that. The only shortages cam after we kick the Soviet government out. They tried to starve us of fuel while we built facilities for alternative suppliers. What we had was rationed because of the price demanded by the Russians. But I was living either on an army base or at my parents house in the country. So I never went cold or hungry. We generated gas from wood cylinders for power whenever it was shut off. Our village piped water never stopped. I am tired of all the over blown stories told by these ex-Soviets of terrible privations. The Soviet Union was a POOR country. The government was corrupt and incompetent. So everyone worked around it. The shady free market system the State ignored. If you were an obedient little Soviet Citizen like Lilliana's family from implications of what she said, I think they were, the fall must have been terrible. Which is why I think she now latches on to the supposed opposite. Perhaps they were blessed Aparatchiks and Party Members.
There are no water shortages in Ukraine right now and hot water isn't really "rationed", though it's not always available year round, depending on whether you have a boiler or not. Possibly her parents live in a small village. Also, it's nice to say "would you like a root canal without anesthetic?", without also asking "would you like to pay 1500$ for a root canal with anesthetic?". Healthcare in America is of excellent quality, but how do you address the fact that it's so ungodly expensive and many Americans simply suffer in silence because they can't pay for medical/dental care? About healthcare: why does the US have an infant mortaility rate that is something like 20th in the world, on par with Slovakia and Hungary? Why does the WHO rank the US health care system as something like 35th in the world?
Because we count every infant who MIGHT have made it. No one else does that. It skews our averages. Same reason Paris has a low crime rate on paper. Police captains get bonuses in Paris by reporting low crimes rates. So they get low crime rates reported.
"many Americans simply suffer in silence because they can't pay for medical/dental care?" Apparently, many Russians and Ukrainians suffered out loud precisely because of their medical/dental care. Additionally, many Russians and Ukrainians would forego the great honor of "free" root canals and extractions because of their expectation of suffering from procedures without anesthesia; they suffered in silence, too, but with this major difference: they had little choice in the matter. Suffer in the dentist's chair out loud or suffer at home in silence. And even if they scrounged together every ruble they could find, they still would be able to buy anesthesia at any price because the entire supply was controlled and *rationed* by government. You're ignoring that major difference. "why does the US have an infant mortaility rate that is something like 20th in the world, on par with Slovakia and Hungary". Simple. The US is the only country to COUNT EVERY BABY THAT'S BORN: if a baby is born alive but dies just a few hours later, it's tallied in the U.S. as "infant mortality." In most other countries, if a baby is born alive but dies a few hours later, it's tallied as a "still birth" and does NOT get counted in their bureaux of vital statistics as "infant mortality", so it gives the appearance - the APPEARANCE - of that country's having lower infant mortality. Many studies have been done on this, comparing the different standards of judging what is, or is not, infant mortality. In some countries, extremely premature babies and severely underweight babies are "expected to die" within hours - most do so - and when that happens, they are, again, tallied as "still births" rather than as infant mortality. The WHO surveys have been criticized many times for failing to mention this in their results.
I don't know why she says there were no national identities in the Soviet Union. Everyone was a Soviet citizen, yet people basically identified nationally as Russians, Ukrainians, etc. This was not a secret, it was listed in column 5 of one's passport. Theoretically, national identity was supposed to slowly disappear; in practice it wasn't weakening at all. Theoretically it wasn't supposed to matter; reality was different, because there were all sorts of tensions between nationalities. In Ukraine, in Kiev in particular, Georgians, Armenians, Jews, Gypsies were strongly disliked. Also, if anyone spoke Ukrainian, they were looked down on, even by Russian-speaking Ukrainians. We all studied Ukrainian language at school, but nobody spoke it outside of those classes. There was a very harsh and complicated system of nationality-based quotas for admission to universities after school. This was extremely important, because those who didn't get into universities were taken into the army, where they were routinely raped and tortured by fellow soldiers. I can tell a lot of stories about it.
Everything she said about Europe was absolute nonsense. My US relatives pay over $2,000 thousands dollars every month on health insurance - the US health system is nothing more than a money making scheme. Most doctors are millionaires and the hospitals, big pharma and the insurance companies are just scamming everyone. In Europe, the system is based around need and not ability to pay. Of course, we pay higher taxes but we get good public services in return. I was utterly shocked at the poverty I witnessed in America. I thought it was the richest country in the world? Only because you treat your poor so badly. The U.S is a country built to service its rich, and of course, all countries have an element of that - it's a rich man's world, but it's not as apparent in Europe as it is in America. In the US you don't even get paid holidays except a few public holidays, in Europe we get 25 days minimum and that doesn't even include public holidays like Christmas and New Year, etc. No wonder why many young Americans are realising that a Capitalist economy based around some sound Socialist values and safety nets are not to be feared but instead to be fought for and cherished.
You think the healthcare system in the United states is free market? You're an idiot if you think so. The reason why healthcare costs so much is because of government intervention trying to capitulate the war on poverty. And the young Americans you talk about are just as delusional and pawns for politicians who want more overreach. That's what caused the housing crisis in 2009. The places in America where people live in poverty do not have free markets or a meritocratic culture or system. The people in these areas believe they have no free will so why would they want their communities to get better? Progressive policies in the United states is the exact reason why alot of the urban areas with poverty are still in poverty. Public schools are fucked over by corrupt teacher unions, drugs are expensive because the government mandates that only certain drugs are allowed to be manufactured and subsidized for. And housing is expensive(only in Progressive states) because of the regulation on the housing market. There is nothing free market about the poor communities in the United states because they already have their freedom taken away by idiots with the same mindset as Keynesians.
She's a lovely woman. I know this because she's being kind about many of the pupils she gets: some of them have enough spirit, curiosity and robust humility to pursue the unknown economic surprises that she presents to them. Another section of her pupils are simply dumb, simply not bright and incomprehensibly arrogant in their dismissal of the history that she brings to them, that their candy-asses never lived through and never even had the curiosity to think back to and investigate on their own or think back to and engage in thoughtful speculation about. Speculation not guided by ideology, of any sort, but speculation guided by useful frameworks. God, she's kind.
Her anecdote about a US student having to fly home to USA to see a doctor re. asthma because they weren't able to see a specialist doctor in the UK health service seems unusual. Not saying it didn't occur but there would be no need for it to occur due to the health system. If the respiratory problem were life-threatening they would have been seen urgently on the NHS. If the problem were chronic, when the NHS sometimes lets patients down, then they could have seen specialists privately at a time of the patients choosing for much cheaper price than flying home to USA. A melodramatic anecdote about a melodramatic student. How bad was the asthma if they successfully flew home.... patients with bad asthma are advised not to fly... the rest of the interview is interesting but using such melodramatic stories undermines her message in the same way that her teachers in USSR tried to undermine her view of the western economy by telling her that there are children in sweatshops to support the capitalist system...and by the way, there are kids doing that...just not in USA yet. Her points about individual responsibility are well made though.
My wife was born and brought up in the USSR. Then she was in the USA for two years for her MBA. Through her I know a lot of people of the former USSR. They were all very happy with that system and very sorry that the system was destroyed by some evil people like Gorbachev-Yeltsin for their own benefits. The USA has millions of homeless people, millions of uneducated people, millions of people are hungry and without medical service. USSR had no such problem.
Well said Dipak ji. Socialism in the Soviet saw many successes, esp. in providing opportunities to improve talent, etc. I would like to add the following. The blind capitalists (and CEOs of very large private 'enterprises'/their supporters say socialism doesn't recognize talents/intelligence; but they have no issues at all against some who invest in the stock/share market and loot billions. Learned people, say, surgeons/medical specialists, engineers, accountants... are paid almost nothing if you compare with the practically unlimited wealth of, say Rakesh Jhunjhunwala and Warren Buffett of these times. The so called 'investors' may be literate, but certainly not educated. And we needn't speak about the plight of blue collared workers (for example farmers)... There should be minimum wages and limit to maximum wages and assets too. If implemented well, socialistic system is far more humane and at the same time far more logical than capitalistic system. Having said all this, extremities (such as mass imprisonments, mass killings mass tortures which happened in Joeseph Stalin's era etc.) need severe condemnation.
a. You really think Americans are encouraged to view ourselves as citizens of our states? They’ve been crushing that out of us since the Civil War. b. I know she’s hot, but couldn’t you find someone to interview who actually lived a significant portion of her life in Soviet times? She’s barely old enough to remember it.
dentists are not subsized by the govt, and it's either insurance or cash. You can't go and not pay. That may be the reason why dentistry is so lucrative.
You don’t know that the Mises institute is on the black list of the CIA and they have their bank accounts frozen, sooooo , yah, the CIA loves socialism
"... soviet citizen... 2:05. Here is the lie... There was NO discrimination in USSR, even in the passports there was a line of nationality... where you put your nationality according to your fathers background, or you can choose your mothers but mostly fathers last name and his nationality.. USSR was same as USA, you are soviet person/american but with the different heritage. People had experience and tried EVERY republics culture, they like cuisines of 15 republics, some liked their customs... It was a friendly state/country. And now, I would be asking a ukrainian about USSR since they are the first ones to betray such country... We were peaceful and friendly, now we just like a strangers to each other.. Sad.
@@papunachivadze7655 georgian? aren't you? How is nato treating right now? How is your country doing? where is your prez Saakashvili? Ukraine? He said that he is more ukrainian than any other citizen of Ukraine.. Traitor.. How is this possible, being a president of one country, give allegiance to the other..
@@georgeblatant3318did I say anything about NATO? You are bringing up easy Russian talking points. Problem has never been between western world and Georgia but Georgia and Kremlin. Everybody knows here in Georgia that Saakashvili is politically pursued. none of the claims are real... and is he traitor or not it's none of your fucken business...people will decide.
@@papunachivadze7655 yeah sure, go ahead, CNN/soros talking head. YOU HAVE NO IDEA what is going on in the world. You are just a globalist puppet. I feel sorry for you. And it is my fucking business, because people like you, so nearsighted so gullible, are the fucking problem in this world...
George Blatant Well said bratan. Look at what Ukraine has become today.. They don't celebrate Den pobede anymore , they destroyed almost all of soviet architecture and monuments, Singing old soviets songs or wearing anything related to that time gets you to Prison.. They betrayed us in WW2, and again during the fall.. and again when they passed their law in 2015. Have you seen bratan how the Nationalist have taken power? The same Fascists we fought are back in power.. Ukraïna... it breaks my heart..
The answer is to defund Prog (1984) Ed in K-12, university and grad schools; replacing the anti-brain and anti-republic pedagogy with Western (1776) Enlightenment and its love of Natural Law, Common Sense Philosophy, Life, Liberty and the Pursuit of Property and Happiness. This would work in 200 nations.
Strange conversation from a PhD economist. The derogatory comments about her undergraduate students - did she ever consider that they behave the way they do because they grew up under capitalism. Her students are aware of grotesque income inequality; that 30 million Americans have NO health insurance; that there is a severe opioid crisis; that college students graduate with massive debt; that the suicide rate is sky rocketing, that school shootings are a regular event in the US; and that life expectancy is on a downward trend (among other disturbing statistics)? Perhaps she and her PhD husband live a very comfortable life. But she is as brainwashed about American Capitalism as she was about the Soviet system she grew up in.
Well said. No mention of the 34M people who cant afford healthcare or 500K bankrupted by it every year either. 000ks of homeless & destitute. Or are they just 'collareral damage'? She learnt to speak English very well in the SU & had a good education. Sorry if the only problem she had was a lack of dental floss...wow. Anecdotal evidence of poor health care in the UK. Yes, its not 100% but heaven forbid we switch to the US system, at least here no-one will turn you away for being poor & you wont end up in debt or bankrupt. I am afraid this lady has swopped one propaganda programme for another, or maybe you have to go with the flow in the US.
Don't remember who said this, but, "If you want to learn about India you read indian writers, England you read English writers, Germany, America, China, Japan, Israel, Arabian, you name it, but if you want to learn about Russia you read from Berkley professors." Lmao
I recall a former Russian government official remarking that the only people left who believe in communism are a few third world dictators and the professors in American universities.
So you will be caught in a comfortable conformist unique thought and sleep. If you want to learn something about URRS you have to start from E.H. Carr and his mighty independent school and method. A legendary teacher not payed by none of the Cold War Agencies .
+ClearOutSamskaras a fact about people who don't speak english natively (it's not my mother language either), specially noted in brazilians : many of them don't really know what "LOL" means. Many use it just as an way to express surprise, so it could be the case that he wasn't laughing.
Are there other countries or regions that don't have enough anesthetics for dental care? Today, the good old USA *denies people painkillers even when they are dying of cancer or otherwise very sick* because they are now terrified of Govt policy on addition, the pendulum has swung from opoids are health food to opoids should be banned completely. I tried to look it up. Reddit thinks AMERICANS ARE SOFT for wanting serious anesthesia for tooth extraction or cavity drilling. IDK about root canal. Quora says "underdeveloped countries" and Poland as another example are places that don't have anesthesia for dental work, though a big thing is it helps the dentist because the patient isn't jerking around involuntarily.
To be fair, they would first put arsenic into the root canal to kill the root nerve. That was very painful for a day or two, but after that it was basically painless. However, I had tonsils taken out without anesthesia. THAT was painful.
"... soviet citizen... 2:05. Here is the lie... There was NO discrimination in USSR, even in the passports there was a line of nationality... where you put your nationality according to your fathers background, or you can choose your mothers but mostly fathers last name and his nationality.. USSR was same as USA, you are soviet person/american but with the different heritage. People had experience and tried EVERY republics culture, they like cuisines of 15 republics, some liked their customs... It was a friendly state/country. And now, I would be asking a ukrainian about USSR since they are the first ones to betray such country... We were peaceful and friendly, now we just like a strangers to each other.. Sad.
@@georgeblatant3318 I was forced to realize that this hate mongering of the ussr, while some of it may be justified, i believe most people simply use it as an excuse to get a degree in bullshit in the US.
We’ve been so spoiled for so long it has people thinking crazy. They’ve never thought that a grocery store slap full of food on every shelf is normal all over the world. You pull up to a window, order and food appears. Something serious goes down and a lot of people are going to die and fast.
Awesome interview. This is the difference between the west and the east. We need more immigrants like this lady. She works hard and she appreciates what the west has built for its citizens. Canadian and American children are being brain washed by our wicked teachers dumbing them down.
The west built for its citizens? The government didn't do shit. The only good thing governments can do is get outta the fucking way. Americans built that wealth for themselves over generations - IN SPITE of the government interference, tax, regulations, war, socialism.
Great URSS. It was the greatest experience to make a community of sister and brothers united beyond the incredibly stupid and tribal nationalism. Leaders were from different nationalities ( Stalin was a Georgian, Khrushchev an Ukrainian...) That unity made that community to win for all the word the war against the Nazi-Fascist and their genocidal WWII. The soviet people carried out in ten years the industrialization that British got in 3 centuries of empire exploitation and USA in one of Monroe Doctrine. For this feats Russian and other people are so proud and homesick of that social situation were culture and chances were available as birthday wrights to all.. Opposite to do VitaSine Libertatenih I see the chances of the left in West as a chance against the stupid aggressive and unsatisfactory "American way of life", his consumerism, agressivity, interference in the sovereignty of free Countries/ which is nowadays negation of life. Yes Communism was very attracting when we revolutionaries have apprehended the lessons who can be learn from our weak points . But like Spartacus the rebel slave taught to all of us: we were, we are, we will be.
So socialized health care means that people get their root canals without anesthetic in the Netherlands, Germany, Sweden, Denmark, Norway? Wow I had no idea it was that bad!
It's called creating a false dichotomy in order to benefit the status quo. Anything that benefits the working class has been called socialism since the term was invented.
It's always interesting in discussions about socialist healthcare, it's always the soviet union we talk about and not all the industrialized western capitalist countries that also have it. Just take a look at our neighbors to the north, how many of them want an American style system of healthcare? Sure, you pay higher taxes for that system, but what percentage of an American's income goes to copays, premiums, prescription costs, and deductibles? God forbid you ever have a kid, that's tens of thousands of dollars right there. If you get some kind of disease? You could go bankrupt. Have to visit the hospital? Surprise, you owe tens of thousands of dollars. Now what percentage of your income is going to healthcare?
How come her parents didn't have money for sports (tennis, swimming). Sports were free for schoolchildren and students at her time. Nationalities discrimination is another lie.
Tuned out as soon as you switched the conversation to being 100% against social democracy. It is possible to strike a balance with fair pricing and preventing oligarchy. Which it’s funny you fail to bring up that topic at all considering you have a Ukrainian to interview
I had a Hebrew teacher that grew up in Russia that told me very similar stories. It's very sad that my own country is again on the brink of becoming a socialist hellhole.
Lies and biased, try asking a low income worker who works 14hours a day in 2 jobs and can't even afford to pay for an ambulance in an emergency, let alone afford a dental operation, see how these low income grassroots of the capitalist world think about capitalism and the "opportunities" it offers for rich people like the professor in this video
xmfclick Thanks for pointing out the spelling mistake. I have now corrected it. In my opinion, by constantly reminding her children of her life of scarcity in the former USSR while taunting them with having stuff and facilities that they take for granted, she is instilling a sense of guilt in them.
I'm assuming you mean children as students? Do you think it's a bad thing they feel guilt? I'd imagine that emotion would come from them taking the access they have to so much variety of the production of other people. I used to think that way, take things for granted. Then I had teachers much like Dr. Stern who opened my eyes to just how intricate the things I took for granted were. I did feel guilt. It faded to admiration for most things and people I meet or see. I'm grateful now as a result of that guilt. Emotions are temporary, guilt faded once I understood WHY I was feeling it. Most people progress through these feelings naturally. If she's making them feel guilty that's a good thing. It's the first step on the road to a brighter way of living.
Jared Oliver OK I feel you. Different kids have different personalities. Some will be positively effected with the realization that they have it so much better than their parents. Others may grow up feeling guilty for just even having an expensive meal in a nice restaurant or buying a nice suit. My guess is that the second types outnumber the first.
Could the good professor of economics tell us how she aquired the education that allowed her to have a career in the USA? Cause it seems that she got it for free, because of the educational system of the ''evil empire''.
Child! "Free Education", just like anything else "free from the government" is stupid fairy tale for economically illiterate. In USSR I, my parents, and everybody else were paying many times over for everything we were getting "for free" even before receiving our salaries. Nothing in this life is "free". Get it thru your brains!
@ssmusic214: When someone said "free" thing, especially from government, I question not about economically literate, but more for person's IQ and doing math.
@@ssmusic214 well since you are economically literate, lets analyze the situation. According to the american educational system the higher education studies could cost from several thousands to hundreds of thousands of dollars. If you dont come from money, you have to a) win some impossible scholarship b) get a student loan c) serve in the military and be lucky enough to return sane and with all your body parts, in order to claim your GI bill. Soviet Union had many defects but the educational system was not one of them. You claim that you payed many times over because of the deductions from your salary and the objective value of your work according to the western system. Bullshit. First of all you were not in the west. Second and most important, the only case that this could happen is if you had a very important position, or a prestigious occupation such as engineer, doctor, proffesor etc. Most of the people who worked their 8 hours at the factory doing the same 3 movements every day like robots and care only to fill in a minimal quota set by the managment, would never make the needed money to pay university tuition fees, even if they were payed according to the western market system. Have you seen many factory workers paying 100K+ in US without any student loan or goverment program? So it wasnt litteraly ''free'' but your individual contribution especially if you were part of the majority of the working soviet class, was close to laughably minimal.
@@courtneyhenning8488 didnt noticed date, but i wanted to post it that others see it, this videos is big lie. watch this when people who actually lived in those times talk ruclips.net/video/sjI8jwn0Upo/видео.html
It is if you're part of the special anointed class -party members, propagandists and their relatives. It would have collapsed sooner if the idea that you could become one of the anointed and steal from the rest didn't keep the system alive. Of course, there were measures to greatly limit who will plunder and who will forever remain a worker ant.
I think most of the Western-born Socialists/Communists legitimately believe that in their 'utopia', they will be members of the party, the aristocracy, and with high wealth and power. That's why they really don't care about all the peasants having poor (equal) wages. Yuri Bezemov calls these people 'useful idiots' and it's obvious why.
The thing that annoys me about communism is that people call it communism when the point would be much better conveyed if it was called what it actually is, socialism. Socialism is the basis of communism, communism is the extension of socialism. So when people figure out where socialism actually goes, they might think twice about their incredibly dangerous notions of utopia...
It's terrible even on paper. Forced fraternity and radical egalitarianism are horrifying. Losing your personal identity is supposed to be a positive to them. Even if it could work economically it would still be dystopian socially.
14:13 ... asking kids whether they are for or against socialism is pointless. asking kids if they know what the "idea or theory of socialism" is a better question. ask them, "do you know what socialism is?" for the ones that say yes then ask them, "please explain what you think socialism is." kids are so dumb these days, and getting dumber, they don't even know where europe is. most college kids and most adults don't know what socialism is.
What a woman- what a Mom- what a lovely human being. Thanks, Jeff, for introducing her here on misesmedia!
Yep, good interview. Thanks Jeff and Dr. Stern!
I talked to an exchange scholar from Sweden and she told me that she would not stay in the USA because in Sweden they have better social programs.
Yeah, until shes required to get a job and take on her fair share of civic duties including paying 70% income tax #facepalm
@@tovarisch3039
You think with income taxes plus property, sales and other taxes by the end of the day there is more left in your purse than in Sweden???
Would like to hear how to improve capitalism. We have many homeless, USSR had almost zero. I had a wisdom tooth pulled with
no anesthetic when I was in college. We have the greatest income gap. College students are drowning in debt. What about recession, and bank bailouts? Should we just say we have it better than Russia and that’s it?
@@mryhdy6266 what happens if you get cancer? How much is left in your purse in the US? Or your parent has to go to a convalescent home? Chronic disease? Lose your job? Have a child? How much is left then?
@@annann2000 The goal is to present a false diachotomy rather than to find a solution in the middle. If we lump any move to the left as SOVIET UNION, rather than, idk, Canada, Sweden, or really any other European country, then we can keep the status quo and keep the billionaires happy.
It would be nice to have more content from her!
Really great interview.
Excellent interview!! Hope it gets wide exposure. Too many young Americans have no idea how lucky they are!!! Keep up the good work, Professor!!!
How "lucky" they are?? Our country is a dumpster fire, not unlike the rest of the world. I suggest you come out of your hole every once in awhile to check it out.
Most people know. They just dont give a shit enough to act out over every little fucking walmart that destroys small towns.
And we can do so much more.
My experience as a younger adult, I was 24 when Lithuania expelled the Soviet occupation and restored Independence. Russians definitely considered themselves superior to being merely just Soviet citizens. They were not discouraged in this attitude. If you considered yourself a Soviet Citizen and not Russian you were happily collaborating with the Russian occupation. Everyone else saw themselves as Soviet subjects. Subjected to Soviet power and forced by circumstance to comply or face severe consequences.
I am an economist of a kind too. But I do not consider the Soviet Union to have been a socialist country. Marx would certainly not have recognised it as communist. It more resembled the economy of an open prison and the Party the guards.
I was one of many thousands who faced the KGB interior ministry troops on the streets of Vilnius in 1991. Also one of those injured. I helped carry away people hit by machine gun fire. I remember the darkness the cold the screams the shouting. When the tanks fired blank shells point blank range I lost hearing from the concussion. My old army coat from that night has the blood stains. Mines and others.
Just get the idea I was never a happy little Soviet.
But much of what this woman has claimed about that mess of a country is distorted. Life was poor, there were shortages in manufactured goods, but before the end food sufficient, relatively good and healthy. Crops were seasonal and apart from refrigeration there was little preservation. Preserved food was dried smoked or pickled. Sometimes quiet boring. In Lithuania it was always plentiful. Culturally people eat rye breads which stay good for up to 12 days. So you only bought it maybe once a week. You were given days based on surname. The annoyance being everyone went to buy on the first day of your three days in the week. That caused queues and they ran out of the day's bake. Go on the third day, no queue and plenty on the shelf. People are just Black Friday style stupid sometimes.
It was a system not a very well run one. In the last couple of years it started to come apart. The last year or really few months when the low oil price meant the State ran out of foreign cash, it collapsed. In cities people struggled with irregular deliveries. I never saw any of that. The only shortages cam after we kick the Soviet government out. They tried to starve us of fuel while we built facilities for alternative suppliers. What we had was rationed because of the price demanded by the Russians. But I was living either on an army base or at my parents house in the country. So I never went cold or hungry. We generated gas from wood cylinders for power whenever it was shut off. Our village piped water never stopped.
I am tired of all the over blown stories told by these ex-Soviets of terrible privations. The Soviet Union was a POOR country. The government was corrupt and incompetent. So everyone worked around it. The shady free market system the State ignored. If you were an obedient little Soviet Citizen like Lilliana's family from implications of what she said, I think they were, the fall must have been terrible. Which is why I think she now latches on to the supposed opposite. Perhaps they were blessed Aparatchiks and Party Members.
There are no water shortages in Ukraine right now and hot water isn't really "rationed", though it's not always available year round, depending on whether you have a boiler or not. Possibly her parents live in a small village. Also, it's nice to say "would you like a root canal without anesthetic?", without also asking "would you like to pay 1500$ for a root canal with anesthetic?". Healthcare in America is of excellent quality, but how do you address the fact that it's so ungodly expensive and many Americans simply suffer in silence because they can't pay for medical/dental care? About healthcare: why does the US have an infant mortaility rate that is something like 20th in the world, on par with Slovakia and Hungary? Why does the WHO rank the US health care system as something like 35th in the world?
Because we count every infant who MIGHT have made it. No one else does that. It skews our averages. Same reason Paris has a low crime rate on paper. Police captains get bonuses in Paris by reporting low crimes rates. So they get low crime rates reported.
"many Americans simply suffer in silence because they can't pay for medical/dental care?"
Apparently, many Russians and Ukrainians suffered out loud precisely because of their medical/dental care. Additionally, many Russians and Ukrainians would forego the great honor of "free" root canals and extractions because of their expectation of suffering from procedures without anesthesia; they suffered in silence, too, but with this major difference: they had little choice in the matter. Suffer in the dentist's chair out loud or suffer at home in silence. And even if they scrounged together every ruble they could find, they still would be able to buy anesthesia at any price because the entire supply was controlled and *rationed* by government. You're ignoring that major difference.
"why does the US have an infant mortaility rate that is something like 20th in the world, on par with Slovakia and Hungary". Simple. The US is the only country to COUNT EVERY BABY THAT'S BORN: if a baby is born alive but dies just a few hours later, it's tallied in the U.S. as "infant mortality." In most other countries, if a baby is born alive but dies a few hours later, it's tallied as a "still birth" and does NOT get counted in their bureaux of vital statistics as "infant mortality", so it gives the appearance - the APPEARANCE - of that country's having lower infant mortality. Many studies have been done on this, comparing the different standards of judging what is, or is not, infant mortality. In some countries, extremely premature babies and severely underweight babies are "expected to die" within hours - most do so - and when that happens, they are, again, tallied as "still births" rather than as infant mortality. The WHO surveys have been criticized many times for failing to mention this in their results.
Certainly not behind Russia, China or N.Korea.
I don't know why she says there were no national identities in the Soviet Union. Everyone was a Soviet citizen, yet people basically identified nationally as Russians, Ukrainians, etc. This was not a secret, it was listed in column 5 of one's passport. Theoretically, national identity was supposed to slowly disappear; in practice it wasn't weakening at all. Theoretically it wasn't supposed to matter; reality was different, because there were all sorts of tensions between nationalities. In Ukraine, in Kiev in particular, Georgians, Armenians, Jews, Gypsies were strongly disliked. Also, if anyone spoke Ukrainian, they were looked down on, even by Russian-speaking Ukrainians. We all studied Ukrainian language at school, but nobody spoke it outside of those classes.
There was a very harsh and complicated system of nationality-based quotas for admission to universities after school. This was extremely important, because those who didn't get into universities were taken into the army, where they were routinely raped and tortured by fellow soldiers.
I can tell a lot of stories about it.
Because she is paid to say what she is saying.Does she know that Ukraine had a seat at the UN before collapse of USSR.
Everything she said about Europe was absolute nonsense. My US relatives pay over $2,000 thousands dollars every month on health insurance - the US health system is nothing more than a money making scheme. Most doctors are millionaires and the hospitals, big pharma and the insurance companies are just scamming everyone. In Europe, the system is based around need and not ability to pay. Of course, we pay higher taxes but we get good public services in return. I was utterly shocked at the poverty I witnessed in America. I thought it was the richest country in the world? Only because you treat your poor so badly. The U.S is a country built to service its rich, and of course, all countries have an element of that - it's a rich man's world, but it's not as apparent in Europe as it is in America. In the US you don't even get paid holidays except a few public holidays, in Europe we get 25 days minimum and that doesn't even include public holidays like Christmas and New Year, etc. No wonder why many young Americans are realising that a Capitalist economy based around some sound Socialist values and safety nets are not to be feared but instead to be fought for and cherished.
You think the healthcare system in the United states is free market? You're an idiot if you think so. The reason why healthcare costs so much is because of government intervention trying to capitulate the war on poverty. And the young Americans you talk about are just as delusional and pawns for politicians who want more overreach. That's what caused the housing crisis in 2009. The places in America where people live in poverty do not have free markets or a meritocratic culture or system. The people in these areas believe they have no free will so why would they want their communities to get better? Progressive policies in the United states is the exact reason why alot of the urban areas with poverty are still in poverty. Public schools are fucked over by corrupt teacher unions, drugs are expensive because the government mandates that only certain drugs are allowed to be manufactured and subsidized for. And housing is expensive(only in Progressive states) because of the regulation on the housing market. There is nothing free market about the poor communities in the United states because they already have their freedom taken away by idiots with the same mindset as Keynesians.
She's a lovely woman. I know this because she's being kind about many of the pupils she gets: some of them have enough spirit, curiosity and robust humility to pursue the unknown economic surprises that she presents to them. Another section of her pupils are simply dumb, simply not bright and incomprehensibly arrogant in their dismissal of the history that she brings to them, that their candy-asses never lived through and never even had the curiosity to think back to and investigate on their own or think back to and engage in thoughtful speculation about. Speculation not guided by ideology, of any sort, but speculation guided by useful frameworks. God, she's kind.
Misesmedia thank you for presenting 3D feminine greatness. Lovely in intellect & attitude, we need more Professors like her.
Her anecdote about a US student having to fly home to USA to see a doctor re. asthma because they weren't able to see a specialist doctor in the UK health service seems unusual. Not saying it didn't occur but there would be no need for it to occur due to the health system. If the respiratory problem were life-threatening they would have been seen urgently on the NHS. If the problem were chronic, when the NHS sometimes lets patients down, then they could have seen specialists privately at a time of the patients choosing for much cheaper price than flying home to USA. A melodramatic anecdote about a melodramatic student. How bad was the asthma if they successfully flew home.... patients with bad asthma are advised not to fly... the rest of the interview is interesting but using such melodramatic stories undermines her message in the same way that her teachers in USSR tried to undermine her view of the western economy by telling her that there are children in sweatshops to support the capitalist system...and by the way, there are kids doing that...just not in USA yet. Her points about individual responsibility are well made though.
You'd have to be 50+ today and born in the USSR to really experience what it was like back then.
Stalinist times, although more strict on speech policy, had better life. Most of the bread plane pictures come from Gorbachev times
@@vtron9832 The tens of millions who died under Stalin’s rule in the gulags and the Holomodor famines would probably disagree.
@@jayhache5609 funnily enough historians disagree with that Cold War era propaganda
My wife was born and brought up in the USSR. Then she was in the USA for two years for her MBA. Through her I know a lot of people of the former USSR. They were all very happy with that system and very sorry that the system was destroyed by some evil people like Gorbachev-Yeltsin for their own benefits.
The USA has millions of homeless people, millions of uneducated people, millions of people are hungry and without medical service. USSR had no such problem.
Well said Dipak ji. Socialism in the Soviet saw many successes, esp. in providing opportunities to improve talent, etc. I would like to add the following. The blind capitalists (and CEOs of very large private 'enterprises'/their supporters say socialism doesn't recognize talents/intelligence; but they have no issues at all against some who invest in the stock/share market and loot billions. Learned people, say, surgeons/medical specialists, engineers, accountants... are paid almost nothing if you compare with the practically unlimited wealth of, say Rakesh Jhunjhunwala and Warren Buffett of these times. The so called 'investors' may be literate, but certainly not educated. And we needn't speak about the plight of blue collared workers (for example farmers)...
There should be minimum wages and limit to maximum wages and assets too.
If implemented well, socialistic system is far more humane and at the same time far more logical than capitalistic system.
Having said all this, extremities (such as mass imprisonments, mass killings mass tortures which happened in Joeseph Stalin's era etc.) need severe condemnation.
But yet they stood forever in the freezing cold for a loaf of bread.
a. You really think Americans are encouraged to view ourselves as citizens of our states? They’ve been crushing that out of us since the Civil War.
b. I know she’s hot, but couldn’t you find someone to interview who actually lived a significant portion of her life in Soviet times? She’s barely old enough to remember it.
She is great!
Sounds like this is from The CIA playbook
dentists are not subsized by the govt, and it's either insurance or cash. You can't go and not pay. That may be the reason why dentistry is so lucrative.
Nice work CIA, you were almost convincing.
Ok Tankie.
@@AbbysinianReaction Haha,lol. I guess that anarchist have no problem working for the the CIA.
You don’t know that the Mises institute is on the black list of the CIA and they have their bank accounts frozen, sooooo , yah, the CIA loves socialism
"... soviet citizen... 2:05. Here is the lie... There was NO discrimination in USSR, even in the passports there was a line of nationality... where you put your nationality according to your fathers background, or you can choose your mothers but mostly fathers last name and his nationality.. USSR was same as USA, you are soviet person/american but with the different heritage. People had experience and tried EVERY republics culture, they like cuisines of 15 republics, some liked their customs... It was a friendly state/country.
And now, I would be asking a ukrainian about USSR since they are the first ones to betray such country...
We were peaceful and friendly, now we just like a strangers to each other.. Sad.
straight up lie. Russians had their occupation military in every republic and that was their tolerance toward other people.
@@papunachivadze7655 georgian? aren't you?
How is nato treating right now? How is your country doing? where is your prez Saakashvili? Ukraine? He said that he is more ukrainian than any other citizen of Ukraine.. Traitor.. How is this possible, being a president of one country, give allegiance to the other..
@@georgeblatant3318did I say anything about NATO? You are bringing up easy Russian talking points. Problem has never been between western world and Georgia but Georgia and Kremlin. Everybody knows here in Georgia that Saakashvili is politically pursued. none of the claims are real... and is he traitor or not it's none of your fucken business...people will decide.
@@papunachivadze7655 yeah sure, go ahead, CNN/soros talking head. YOU HAVE NO IDEA what is going on in the world. You are just a globalist puppet. I feel sorry for you.
And it is my fucking business, because people like you, so nearsighted so gullible, are the fucking problem in this world...
George Blatant Well said bratan. Look at what Ukraine has become today.. They don't celebrate Den pobede anymore , they destroyed almost all of soviet architecture and monuments, Singing old soviets songs or wearing anything related to that time gets you to Prison.. They betrayed us in WW2, and again during the fall.. and again when they passed their law in 2015. Have you seen bratan how the Nationalist have taken power? The same Fascists we fought are back in power.. Ukraïna... it breaks my heart..
What beauty. Eastern Europe is a treasure trove of beauty.
The answer is to defund Prog (1984) Ed in K-12, university and grad schools; replacing the anti-brain and anti-republic pedagogy with Western (1776) Enlightenment and its love of Natural Law, Common Sense Philosophy, Life, Liberty and the Pursuit of Property and Happiness. This would work in 200 nations.
Strange conversation from a PhD economist. The derogatory comments about her undergraduate students - did she ever consider that they behave the way they do because they grew up under capitalism. Her students are aware of grotesque income inequality; that 30 million Americans have NO health insurance; that there is a severe opioid crisis; that college students graduate with massive debt; that the suicide rate is sky rocketing, that school shootings are a regular event in the US; and that life expectancy is on a downward trend (among other disturbing statistics)? Perhaps she and her PhD husband live a very comfortable life. But she is as brainwashed about American Capitalism as she was about the Soviet system she grew up in.
Walter Zekanoski : When they handed out brains, you were in the Soviet brain line and they ran out before they got to the Zs.
Well said. No mention of the 34M people who cant afford healthcare or 500K bankrupted by it every year either. 000ks of homeless & destitute. Or are they just 'collareral damage'?
She learnt to speak English very well in the SU & had a good education. Sorry if the only problem she had was a lack of dental floss...wow.
Anecdotal evidence of poor health care in the UK. Yes, its not 100% but heaven forbid we switch to the US system, at least here no-one will turn you away for being poor & you wont end up in debt or bankrupt. I am afraid this lady has swopped one propaganda programme for another, or maybe you have to go with the flow in the US.
Don't remember who said this, but, "If you want to learn about India you read indian writers, England you read English writers, Germany, America, China, Japan, Israel, Arabian, you name it, but if you want to learn about Russia you read from Berkley professors."
Lmao
I recall a former Russian government official remarking that the only people left who believe in communism are a few third world dictators and the professors in American universities.
So you will be caught in a comfortable conformist unique thought and sleep. If you want to learn something about URRS you have to start from E.H. Carr and his mighty independent school and method. A legendary teacher not payed by none of the Cold War Agencies .
Kyp - I think Yuri Bezmenov said that.
LOL. Anesthesia was rationed by the government in the good old USSR. Shocking revelations. Thanks.
It isn't funny.
+ClearOutSamskaras a fact about people who don't speak english natively (it's not my mother language either), specially noted in brazilians : many of them don't really know what "LOL" means. Many use it just as an way to express surprise, so it could be the case that he wasn't laughing.
Sounds like bs.
Are there other countries or regions that don't have enough anesthetics for dental care?
Today, the good old USA *denies people painkillers even when they are dying of cancer or otherwise very sick* because they are now terrified of Govt policy on addition, the pendulum has swung from opoids are health food to opoids should be banned completely.
I tried to look it up. Reddit thinks AMERICANS ARE SOFT for wanting serious anesthesia for tooth extraction or cavity drilling. IDK about root canal.
Quora says "underdeveloped countries" and Poland as another example are places that don't have anesthesia for dental work, though a big thing is it helps the dentist because the patient isn't jerking around involuntarily.
@@gg_rider americans ARE soft for wanting full blown anesthesia for tooth extraction. A local works just fine.
To be fair, they would first put arsenic into the root canal to kill the root nerve. That was very painful for a day or two, but after that it was basically painless.
However, I had tonsils taken out without anesthesia. THAT was painful.
Bless her heart.... she wanted “education and travel” and ended up in Alabama;)
"... soviet citizen... 2:05. Here is the lie... There was NO discrimination in USSR, even in the passports there was a line of nationality... where you put your nationality according to your fathers background, or you can choose your mothers but mostly fathers last name and his nationality.. USSR was same as USA, you are soviet person/american but with the different heritage. People had experience and tried EVERY republics culture, they like cuisines of 15 republics, some liked their customs... It was a friendly state/country.
And now, I would be asking a ukrainian about USSR since they are the first ones to betray such country...
We were peaceful and friendly, now we just like a strangers to each other.. Sad.
@@georgeblatant3318 I was forced to realize that this hate mongering of the ussr, while some of it may be justified, i believe most people simply use it as an excuse to get a degree in bullshit in the US.
@@ThunderAppeal it's not about a degree in the US, try talking to anyone from a socialist country about "equality" and see how far you go.
We’ve been so spoiled for so long it has people thinking crazy. They’ve never thought that a grocery store slap full of food on every shelf is normal all over the world. You pull up to a window, order and food appears. Something serious goes down and a lot of people are going to die and fast.
America is the best country in the world
Awesome interview. This is the difference between the west and the east. We need more immigrants like this lady. She works hard and she appreciates what the west has built for its citizens. Canadian and American children are being brain washed by our wicked teachers dumbing them down.
The west built for its citizens? The government didn't do shit. The only good thing governments can do is get outta the fucking way. Americans built that wealth for themselves over generations - IN SPITE of the government interference, tax, regulations, war, socialism.
Yeah, your statement is contradictory.
I luv her for telling
Great URSS. It was the greatest experience to make a community of sister and brothers united beyond the incredibly stupid and tribal nationalism. Leaders were from different nationalities ( Stalin was a Georgian, Khrushchev an Ukrainian...) That unity made that community to win for all the word the war against the Nazi-Fascist and their genocidal WWII. The soviet people carried out in ten years the industrialization that British got in 3 centuries of empire exploitation and USA in one of Monroe Doctrine. For this feats Russian and other people are so proud and homesick of that social situation were culture and chances were available as birthday wrights to all.. Opposite to do VitaSine Libertatenih I see the chances of the left in West as a chance against the stupid aggressive and unsatisfactory "American way of life", his consumerism, agressivity, interference in the sovereignty of free Countries/ which is nowadays negation of life. Yes Communism was very attracting when we revolutionaries have apprehended the lessons who can be learn from our weak points . But like Spartacus the rebel slave taught to all of us: we were, we are, we will be.
In Silicon Valley helicopter parents call the tech companies to demand promotions for their little darlings
joe jitsu a sad sad state of affairs
I like how the helicopter parent is the fault of the child and not the parent.
So socialized health care means that people get their root canals without anesthetic in the Netherlands, Germany, Sweden, Denmark, Norway? Wow I had no idea it was that bad!
Thanks for the sarcasm.
It's called creating a false dichotomy in order to benefit the status quo. Anything that benefits the working class has been called socialism since the term was invented.
It's always interesting in discussions about socialist healthcare, it's always the soviet union we talk about and not all the industrialized western capitalist countries that also have it. Just take a look at our neighbors to the north, how many of them want an American style system of healthcare? Sure, you pay higher taxes for that system, but what percentage of an American's income goes to copays, premiums, prescription costs, and deductibles? God forbid you ever have a kid, that's tens of thousands of dollars right there. If you get some kind of disease? You could go bankrupt. Have to visit the hospital? Surprise, you owe tens of thousands of dollars. Now what percentage of your income is going to healthcare?
How come her parents didn't have money for sports (tennis, swimming). Sports were free for schoolchildren and students at her time.
Nationalities discrimination is another lie.
Why there was not hot water?
If this is a real question that you or someone else might still be asking, you need to first ask why IS there hot water.
Tuned out as soon as you switched the conversation to being 100% against social democracy. It is possible to strike a balance with fair pricing and preventing oligarchy. Which it’s funny you fail to bring up that topic at all considering you have a Ukrainian to interview
Bubblegum and dentalfloss??? There was no tampons, pads and evdn toiletpaper!
I had a Hebrew teacher that grew up in Russia that told me very similar stories. It's very sad that my own country is again on the brink of becoming a socialist hellhole.
Lies and biased, try asking a low income worker who works 14hours a day in 2 jobs and can't even afford to pay for an ambulance in an emergency, let alone afford a dental operation, see how these low income grassroots of the capitalist world think about capitalism and the "opportunities" it offers for rich people like the professor in this video
That's exactly what the 44% of people who support socialism are thinking. Like, bro, can I just go to the hospital and not worry about going bankrupt?
Very interesting story, come more often.
Bollocks i dont know a single russian who wasnt exposed to western movies and music. rule of thumb: make your point but dont OVERMAKE your point
She looks like "Murron," William Wallace's wife in Braveheart
Oh she's going to hate my kid. I give the kid freedom to screw up.
Liliana is giving guilt to her kids without realizing it.
"Gilt" or "guilt"? There's a big difference. If you mean "guilt", please explain -- I would say she is giving them the gift of truth.
xmfclick
Thanks for pointing out the spelling mistake. I have now corrected it. In my opinion, by constantly reminding her children of her life of scarcity in the former USSR while taunting them with having stuff and facilities that they take for granted, she is instilling a sense of guilt in them.
Improper context. A 25 minute interview does not tell the whole story.
I'm assuming you mean children as students? Do you think it's a bad thing they feel guilt? I'd imagine that emotion would come from them taking the access they have to so much variety of the production of other people. I used to think that way, take things for granted. Then I had teachers much like Dr. Stern who opened my eyes to just how intricate the things I took for granted were. I did feel guilt. It faded to admiration for most things and people I meet or see. I'm grateful now as a result of that guilt. Emotions are temporary, guilt faded once I understood WHY I was feeling it. Most people progress through these feelings naturally. If she's making them feel guilty that's a good thing. It's the first step on the road to a brighter way of living.
Jared Oliver
OK I feel you. Different kids have different personalities. Some will be positively effected with the realization that they have it so much better than their parents. Others may grow up feeling guilty for just even having an expensive meal in a nice restaurant or buying a nice suit. My guess is that the second types outnumber the first.
Could the good professor of economics tell us how she aquired the education that allowed her to have a career in the USA? Cause it seems that she got it for free, because of the educational system of the ''evil empire''.
Child!
"Free Education", just like anything else "free from the government" is stupid fairy tale for economically illiterate.
In USSR I, my parents, and everybody else were paying many times over for everything we were getting "for free" even before receiving our salaries.
Nothing in this life is "free". Get it thru your brains!
joe k you are a fool.
@ssmusic214: When someone said "free" thing, especially from government, I question not about economically literate, but more for person's IQ and doing math.
@@ssmusic214 well since you are economically literate, lets analyze the situation. According to the american educational system the higher education studies could cost from several thousands to hundreds of thousands of dollars. If you dont come from money, you have to a) win some impossible scholarship b) get a student loan c) serve in the military and be lucky enough to return sane and with all your body parts, in order to claim your GI bill.
Soviet Union had many defects but the educational system was not one of them. You claim that you payed many times over because of the deductions from your salary and the objective value of your work according to the western system. Bullshit. First of all you were not in the west. Second and most important, the only case that this could happen is if you had a very important position, or a prestigious occupation such as engineer, doctor, proffesor etc. Most of the people who worked their 8 hours at the factory doing the same 3 movements every day like robots and care only to fill in a minimal quota set by the managment, would never make the needed money to pay university tuition fees, even if they were payed according to the western market system. Have you seen many factory workers paying 100K+ in US without any student loan or goverment program?
So it wasnt litteraly ''free'' but your individual contribution especially if you were part of the majority of the working soviet class, was close to laughably minimal.
This was enlightening, thank you.
it was all lie, look at comments people confirm it is... im from former ussr and its disgraceful what she is rambling...
@@NostalgicMem0ries thank god you correct my year old comment.
@@courtneyhenning8488 didnt noticed date, but i wanted to post it that others see it, this videos is big lie. watch this when people who actually lived in those times talk ruclips.net/video/sjI8jwn0Upo/видео.html
@@NostalgicMem0ries thanks dude! Its hard to filter through RUclips to find good info.
@@courtneyhenning8488 i know, youtube dont care about truth
she is so lovable haha
24:09 Uhhhh someone likes Mr Deist...
But I thought communism was sweet? That is what Bernie says.
It is if you're part of the special anointed class -party members, propagandists and their relatives. It would have collapsed sooner if the idea that you could become one of the anointed and steal from the rest didn't keep the system alive. Of course, there were measures to greatly limit who will plunder and who will forever remain a worker ant.
I was being facetious, but I agree. Communism is a cupcake idea. It's great on paper. Humans are greedy.
I think most of the Western-born Socialists/Communists legitimately believe that in their 'utopia', they will be members of the party, the aristocracy, and with high wealth and power. That's why they really don't care about all the peasants having poor (equal) wages. Yuri Bezemov calls these people 'useful idiots' and it's obvious why.
The thing that annoys me about communism is that people call it communism when the point would be much better conveyed if it was called what it actually is, socialism. Socialism is the basis of communism, communism is the extension of socialism. So when people figure out where socialism actually goes, they might think twice about their incredibly dangerous notions of utopia...
It's terrible even on paper. Forced fraternity and radical egalitarianism are horrifying. Losing your personal identity is supposed to be a positive to them. Even if it could work economically it would still be dystopian socially.
14:13 ... asking kids whether they are for or against socialism is pointless. asking kids if they know what the "idea or theory of socialism" is a better question. ask them, "do you know what socialism is?" for the ones that say yes then ask them, "please explain what you think socialism is." kids are so dumb these days, and getting dumber, they don't even know where europe is. most college kids and most adults don't know what socialism is.
Smokeshow!
No dental anasthetic? Lies
This is truly infantile. Right-wing talking points that are as primitive as the most doctrinaire sort of Stalinism...