Do you sometimes wonder how people can be communist in this day and age?
I didn’t think people were until I came onto sites with mostly people who never even lived in a communist/post communist countries claiming communism is oh so great.
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Communism is usually what happens when the economy of a nation has gotten so bad for a large segment of society that they revolt. It's a response to poor economic leadership, be it ethically poor, technically poor, or irresponsibly poor. After they start building wealth again and it's reasonably well distributed they start turning back to the free market.
Any given society only has so much tolerance for inequality, and so much tolerance for super-equality.
@Xuan12 but the USSR didn’t stop being communist because everyone started doing well. North Korea’s citizens don’t seem to be doing any better either since they took on communism.
@Bruh222 Yeah, the USSR kept trying until it became untenable anymore. But keep in mind it wasn't only economic models driving the USSR. It was essentially a Russocentric Empire, and the Russian's wanted very much to keep it together. Some of the nation's folded into the USSR were wealthier to begin with, and never wanted to join in the first place. It was practically a military occupation in some regions. That's why Soviet experiments with greater liberty failed. Giving more liberty to the people would have resulted in dissolving the USSR, which it eventually did, and Russia embraced a more free market style afterward.
Possibly similar with North Korea. Economy is not the only force at play, there is also the brutal military regime of the Kim family ruling with an iron fist. Additionally, much of NK has indeed remained poor because of this. The Kim's aren't increasing the nation's wealth, they are hoarding it for themselves, their cronies, and the military. The famine wracked villages in NK aren't ready for a more free market because they are still operating in a subsistence economy. They are struggling to live, they don't have time to engage in a complex marketplace when they need food and basic necessities immediately, all their effort goes toward those. NK is communist in name, but in practice it is feudal.
@Xuan12 I think that’s the case In pretty much any country that is communist, or has been. It doesn’t work and no country prevailed under it. It’s a stupid idea and has been ruled by power hungry idiots and they fool other idiots into thinking it’s a good idea.
@Bruh222 Well there is the case of Vietnam. Poor for a long time, they have begun their shift toward more free markets, and thanks to their lack of pressing engagements or internal division they are emerging as a modest but growing nation.
China also has roughly followed this path, slowly embracing freer markets and reaping the benefits.
