Originally posted by Boroda
You mistake "Communism" for Soviet Socialism.
Soviet economics was based on collectively owned agricultural enterprises, that were not in any way government controlled.
Key concept: "provides its people's healthcare, education and welfare". All the rest is unimportant.
Funny, but many people who lived here in Soviet times don't understand it. You could pretty well work for yourself (self-employment), earn as much as your health allows, and buy anything for market prices. OTOH if you were a looser - you stick to 120 rubles monthly and stand in a line for cheap sausage.
I was a university student and earned more then most of the above mentioned loosers, 70 rubles scolarship plus 55 rubles half-time programmer. Plus occasional jobs. I didn't go to Student Construction Squads in summer, people earned no less then 3000 rubles there - I went hiking instead.
Interesting stuff Boroda. Just out of curiosity though what time frame are you talking about when this was happening? Was this after reforms started or before? In all honesty, I'm not surprised that there was capitalism going on, even during the height of Stalin's reign, it's a pretty natural state of affairs and one of the main reasons "true" communism will never be possible.
Regarding missile sites being built in the CzR and Poland they are defensive and placed to protect Europe from missiles launched from the Middle East. Only a fool would ignore the threat posed by a regime like Iran's. Also, if the USSR was such a brotherly and happy place with everyone enjoying a wonderful life due to the benefits of Socialism....ah....why haven't any of your old "partners" stayed by Russia's side?
A couple of other questions though...what exactly makes you think the US is a threat? I mean this seriously. At no time has the US ever invaded or attacked Russia or the USSR. If I remember correctly, and I do, it was the USSR that threated to wipe the US off the face of the map. While there were certainly some in the US that advocated attacking the USSR, they were few and far between. As a matter of fact there were, and still are, far more apologists for the USSR and Socialism then were ever advocating it's complete destruction. The very fact that we have had freedom of speech and a free press guaranteed that you would have heard some of this but it was never US policy. US policy was "containment" to prevent the spread of your system. As far as that's concerned, can you name any former client state of the USSR that continued in it's footsteps and has been successful...or...for that matter was even able to sustain itself without totalitarianism? Can you name a single part of the USSR or it's client states that had a problem with too many people wanting to immigrate to them as opposed to run away from them? No, you can't.
Another question, how is it you arrive at your conclusion that Soviet Socialism was the most effective economic system ever created? Seriously, "most effective" by what measure? Production? Gross National Product? Gross Domestic Product? Wealth per capita? The fact that the USSR relocated so much of it's industrial capability during the war is a reflection of several things. 1) it didn't have much industrial capability to relocate in the first place and 2) it was done by the labor of the citizens. It had nothing to do with the economy. Also, by that measure Germany was probably as successful. Up until the last year of the war German war production incresed every year and the German's had to relocate much of their vital production capability undergound due to US and Britsh bombing.
By all measures of resources and manpower the USSR should have had an enormous advantage. It had absolute control over it's own resources and almost no need for importing any natural resources...so....why did this "most effective ecoomic system ever created" fail? The USSR lost the Cold War specifically because it couldn't compete economically and that pretty much puts to rest any idea that it's economy was anything else but the equivalent of a third world country.
