sturm

What were the pros of communism, with what communism was better then democracy if with anything?
I could name a few pros myself as a man who experianced both regimes but, i would like to hear your opinion on the matter too

Naomasa298

I would actually be really interested to know what your opinion is as someone who has experienced both regimes.

vid

People who lived through both regimes mention these pros:
- workers / collective farmers were generally better off than now
- there was always someone responsible for solving various problems (such as boss abusing someone, etc.)
- security (eg. you didn't have to fear of losing job, ending on street, etc.), calmer life with less fear, stress, always rushing somewhere, etc.
- lower criminality
- much better social services (free health care, earlier and better pension, very good marriage loan, etc.)
- less intrusion of foreign culture than now

arras

Communism or socialism sturm? Communism as far as I know was newer implemented in so called communistic countries. It was bright future in front of us we were told. Always in front of us unfortunately (or fortunately who knows?).

Toltec

If you're talking about the Eastern block.

Guaranteed housing, job, food in you stomach. No homeless or starving on the street. The best education sytem in the world. No rich/poor divide, one class of travel on airplanes. Guaranteed wages, regulated working hours and holidays. Free travel to anywhere in the eastern bloc. Free healthcare. State social security from cradle to grave. World class public transport system.

Fourteen

As always, there's nothing wrong with the most part of ideology of communism; there's simply the problems that come with its implementation.

sturm

Yes i agree here Arras, communism remaind on papper, but lets speak about what was achieved in the Eastern bloc, in the Soviet Union and the Soviet satellites.

Some of the pros i can mention are:

First of all with todays high unemployment procentige in my country i can name exactly that. During the socialism (as Arras corrected me) the unemployment level in my country was almost 0%, everybody had a job, and seemed happy with it, even gypsies/romani, which today aren't qualified enough for a decent job and usually resort to theft, used to have jobs.

As vid mentioned there was kind of security, there wasn't orgnized crime like today, no drugs or if there were any it wasn't like today, as a man who used to serve my army days on the border, i remammber how hard it was to get anything to pass inside or outside the country.

There was also pretty much same standart for everybody (except of course the officials from the rulling communist party and those close to them), today we have two classes in my country. The poor and those who are extremely rich, theres no middle class today at least in my country, i cant speak for Slovakia, Arras might speak more about that.

Healthcare was free, even though it wasn't of course that good compared to modern hospitals in western Europe, and maybe the modern technology of today.

Industrialization, there were so many factories that as the former communist leader of Bulgaria Todor Zhivkov said in the early 90's "We've built so many factories that the new regime won't be able only to paint them for 10 years ahead", and he was pretty much right. After the privatization, during the democracy many factories are left unfunctional, they don't work, nobody cares for them.

Education was very good, compared with todays situation. Bulgarian students were among the most intelligent worldwide i dare say.

Sports were also good, on Olympic games bulgarian athletes were winning prizes and setting records in disciplines like weightlifting, wrestling, gymnastics.
The women world record for women high jump (2.09 meters) set by Stefka Kostadinova in 1987 World Championship games in Rome is unbeaten to this very day.
And modern day Bulgarian football fans with nostalgy remamber when in 1994 (yes during the first years of democratic government but with a football players developed during socialism) Bulgarian national football team finished 4th in the World Cup in United States, when our national team defeated France (in the qualifications), Germany and Argentina. Today our national football team cannot beat Albania, Cyprus or Wales.

Those who are interested in military, also remamber that during the socialism Bulgaria had an impressive amount of equipment and bigger army then today. But then again i cannot count that exactly as a pro. Bulgaria was like the border of the Soviet Union, surrounded by Turkey and Greece, it needed to have big army, which today isn't that necessery and thus it was greatly reduced.

Mohammed the Persian

I generally think that Communism promotes equality amongst people. I remember this case about an African American during the Civil Rights Movement era (I forgot his name) but he had ventured to Soviet Russia and said he had never felt so equal there.
That says something.

Qymaen

Universal Healthcare?

Mohammed the Persian

Canada is a Communist Govt ?!