NationStates Jolt Archive

Any one here live in a socialist/communist country? Anyone have family that live in the middle east? OR anyone from the middle east here? Here in the USA we are given a picture that most other countries it is bleak and terrible living conditions.

Is this true? Anyone versed on the subject or have first hand information?

anyone not have the freedom to critisize their country for fear of imprisonment? Or is this mostly myth created by USA government?

Socialist country? What's your current definition of that? There's the polically communist nation like China and there's a economically socialist nation like Bulgarian. Both aren't that bad, from both my experiences and from one of my friend's.

Any one here live in a socialist/communist country? Anyone have family that live in the middle east? OR anyone from the middle east here? Here in the USA we are given a picture that most other countries it is bleak and terrible living conditions.

Is this true? Anyone versed on the subject or have first hand information?

anyone not have the freedom to critisize their country for fear of imprisonment? Or is this mostly myth created by USA government?

Oh, come on, do you really think they'd answer that question if that were the case?

Oh, come on, do you really think they'd answer that question if that were the case?

Yes. They may have lived in one or may be visiting another country or have family that says they cannot speak out publically.

Yes, here in Australia we can't criticise the government without fear of imprisonment. I hope I have enough time to get this message to the free.....*clunk, bang, screams.........static*

My mother-in-law currently lives in a "democratic" third world country in Africa, if that helps?

But I'm drunk and yearning for my bed so I'll just let the usual mass of Republican morons ruin this thread and then ignore all the subsequent email reminders in the morning...

The definition of 'socialist' is a broad one usually bringing up images of corrupt authoritarian governments in the American mind. Thank you 1950's propaganda.

There are plenty of non-authoritarian countries out there that have lots of socialist programs going. I'm from Canada which has a socialist air to it and everything is dandy here. Quality of life is equal if not better than the US. I don't fear the government at all. I can call the PM a whore and not be dragged off in chains.

Splendiferous! :fluffle:

Oh, come on, do you really think they'd answer that question if that were the case?
:p Tru Dat. I think someone's been watching too many old film reels at school.

There's no real "red agenda" anymore or even "creeping socialism".
The axis is now more or less capitalism with just a pinch of pink.
Social Democracy.

Yeah. France can under many definitions be called socialist.

The point of this thread, however, seems more to be asking what it's like living under oppressive regimes. It's a really interesting question. If there are any Iranians on NS, for example, it would be nice to hear their views.

Yeah. France can under many definitions be called socialist.
France is a socialist country like Canada is. :rolleyes:

The point of this thread, however, seems more to be asking what it's like living under oppressive regimes. It's a really interesting question. If there are any Iranians on NS, for example, it would be nice to hear their views.
Please let us know when Iran is either a socialist or communist country.

I'd like to know.

Any one here live in a socialist/communist country?


Does the UK count?

The point of this thread, however, seems more to be asking what it's like living under oppressive regimes.


Which clearly reveals the hidden assumption: all true socialist/communsit countries are oppressive regimes to a greater or lesser extent.

It depends on how you define socialism, really. I don't really consider the USSR and China to to be socialist.

I have a granduncle who tell me some stories while he was living under Mao's time in China.

Was pretty boring, but he is a farmer. Nothing much.. just do as your told farm your fields and everything would be fine.

Don't challenge the government, or you'll become fishfood seriously. And don't talk bad about the government or complain. Not very oppresive as you would believe if you don't quite have an education, so you wouldn't know what freedoms they possible could have. Their reasonably fed, have a house on their head and a job. They wouldn't know any better (well not since China opened up).

Farmers are somewhat simple people. So I guess it was okay for him.

But he did told me, there was a certain year, where Mao declared that people could have 2 bowl of rice a day instead of the usual 1 bowl. The year after that, because of food shortages some million people died of starvation. :p And Mao's crazy plans to make a week consist of 10 days so that people would work harder. :)

Really depends on whether you mean socialist or communist, and which countries you are talking about.

North Korea and parts of china are certainly hellholes.

Cuba on the other had is comparatively better than its neighbors in south america.

The countries of scandinavia are socialist and have the best living conditions of anywhere in the world.

Lesee... I'd hardly qualify NK as communist; it's intensely despotic and stifling towards dissent, and its ideological and political principles are rooted in Juche - an openly non-Marxist philosophy, which actually has many different similarities towards 14th century Neo-Confucianism. Not to mention the many free trade zones being set up point towards a China-esque course of out and out capitalist restoration.

Cuba's living standards, despite its economy being run on essentially state-capitalist principles, are higher than many of those in the region - most, in fact. There is political participation by the masses, of a sort, especially at the local levels. The amount of political prisoners is worrying but comparitively low, numbering maybe in the low hundreds.

Vietnam and Laos have openly abandoned socialism to an even greater extent than China has with the death of Mao.

I did have a friend who lived in Eastern Bloc poland, and according to him it wasn't terrible, despite the fact I don't consider post-Stalin USSR or eastern Europe socialist in principle. Free housing, medical care, education, etc. According to his accounts, him and his family didn't live in any large amount of fear, though that may be more indicative of his personal experiance than the general state of affairs.

I am using the socialist/communist title is a very loose manner. More Neo-con type usage. On the news in the USA they certainly do not call NK a despotism which it is and I agree it is simply labeled as socialist and or communist and left at that.

Socialism is an _incredibly_ broad term. Here in the UK the Labour party are a socialist party, and since they are in power, that makes us a socialist country. But would you say the UK fits the typical image of a socialist/communist regime(sp?)?

At least, Labour are supposed to be socialist. Now they're New Labour, though, I have no idea what they're trying to be.

At least, Labour are supposed to be socialist. Now they're New Labour, though, I have no idea what they're trying to be.

I believe 'popular whatever the cost to the principles they once held' might cover it.

France is a socialist country like Canada is. :rolleyes:

Frane is a socialist country like the USA is. Similar tax rate, smilar goverment size to GDP ratio, similar political freedoms.

I was born in Moscow, in Russia (duh) Contrary to what people think, it wasn't so bad. When I was five, in 1990, the central government of the communist USSR was overthrown and the USSR was dissolved. Thats when the crime rates skyrocketed and the KGB went crazy trying to cover itself before it was dissolved as well. Luckily, it only lasted for a few months. Anyway, the office where my father worked went bankrupt and he lost his job, so he decided to leave Russia. We moved to Australia in 1992.

I've been back to Moscow to see family lots of times, and things have improved a lot, although Moscow still has more murders per year than any other European capital. But overall, i think the living standards aren't too bad, although apartments are starting to get a little expensive, especially in moscow city.......

The few remaining communist countries, like North Korea have abysmal living standards far as I can tell.

Countries with socialist influence (But they aren't exclusively socialist) such as most European countries. Have living standards just as good as the US really. And dare I say, quite a bit better for the poor.

Communism and Socialism aren't the same. And to be honest North Korea isn't truly communistic in anything other then name. Its a totalitarian one man dictatorship.

The US hatred for socialism (as well as the influence of its christian extremists for that matter), I blame on the machinations of the great damned McCarthy. They should have smothered that guy in his cradle. He definitly ranks within my top ten of people I wish had been stillborn.

Socialism isn't out to destroy civil rights, or even capitalism per se... Jungleball robber-baron style capitalism, yes. But not the free market. If anything I'm pretty sure Socialism is better for the free market then Libertarianism, which so flaunts its dedication to that concept, would be. With Libertarianism the big corporations would have nothing to stop them from crushing the smaller competitions or buying them out. And paying their employees in meals. Socialism places limits on such powers and fights for the rights of the workers above all.

In essence, Socialism is a philosophy that intends to give everyone a human worthy existence. Rather then have the rich do whatever they want as per the golden rule. (Who has the gold makes the rules.)

So dear Americans... Please do stop associating it with dictatorships. In fact, found a REAL socialist party of your own (Not these little wannabe Soviet fringe groups). The middleclass and the poor will be way better off if they get elected. And as the poor will be better off, crime will drop. Your crime rates and prison population are downright frightening by Dutch standards for one.

Any one here live in a socialist/communist country? Anyone have family that live in the middle east? OR anyone from the middle east here? Here in the USA we are given a picture that most other countries it is bleak and terrible living conditions.

Is this true? Anyone versed on the subject or have first hand information?

anyone not have the freedom to critisize their country for fear of imprisonment? Or is this mostly myth created by USA government?
Most countries in Europe are based on social democracies and have some of the highest standards of living in the world.

As an American who has visited the European capitalist social-democracies (The closest thing to real socialism), I have found that the standard of living is indeed just as high as the US, if not better. In my experience, the standard of living is better. Individuals are less isolated by distance and class. Additionally, state infrastructure is much more advanced. I felt like i was stepping 10 years into the future when I visited Europe. Everything is ultra-modern. Heading back to the US felt like heading into the past where everything is slow, clunky, more than a little bit too big, hideously inefficient, and ugly.

Rather depressing. (Countries I base this on are German and Netherlands, and to a lesser extent, France.)

To the credit of the US. It's probably by far the best country to live in if you're a millionaire or better. In the US more wealth equates to more freedom to control others.

Actually, a communist nation never really existed.
To say that North Korea is a communist nation is like saying that the crusades and the Inquisition were christian.

Also, there are different types of Socialism. The one Socialism is the proletarian dictatorship and the other is the democratic socialism or social democracy.

Any one here live in a socialist/communist country?

I've lived in a few places in Eastern Europe, before the fall of the USSR. I was right there when the Berlin Wall fell. Everything bad you've heard about socialist/communist countries is true (and *much* worse if you go further back in time to the 50's for example).

anyone not have the freedom to critisize their country for fear of imprisonment? Or is this mostly myth created by USA government?

That is absolutely true, it is not a myth. People talk anyway, of course, but then some end up (depending on when and where that is) either a) fired from their job and completely unable to get another job or b) roughed up by the police or c) spend a month in jail or c) disappear to forced labor camp, come out years later as invalids if they're lucky. I have heard plenty of first-hand accounts of that, it is real.

Here in the USA we are given a picture that most other countries it is bleak and terrible living conditions.

Yep, most places in the world people can get food most of the time (obviously), but getting anything beyond that is very much touch and go.

If you want to picture life in Eastern Europe circa 1970... picture this: food, clothes and housing cost about what they do in the US (relative to salaries). However everything else costs between three and ten times as much. There is just one brand of everything. Many things are simply not available to buy, at least some of the time. Many things are only sold in one or two stores in a city. Practically: want to buy bread and milk? Walk a mile to a store and queue up behind a hundred people at 8:00 am before the store opens. Want to buy a fridge? It will cost you two months' salary, there is only one kind you can buy, none of the stores have any, and you have to give a store manager a hefty bribe to get one when the store gets a shipment... say in three weeks. Go to the hospital? Wait for three hours *after* your appointment. Anything imported costs twenty times as much. You get the idea.

Nowadays I hear most things cost about the same as here except that salaries are only a quarter of what they are here.