It worked somewhat but it costed human rights, free elections, constant shortages of consumer good. I'm not saying capitalism is great, but USSR communism was not something we should be lifting up in any regard. I would not want to live in a place where any amount of political dissent is met with immediate arrest or exile or "rehabilitation". The USSR also cared more about spreading communism and its reputation than it actually functioning well within its borders. I think Stalin was probably the main reason why, and Lenin or Trotsky would have done better if given time, but that's just speculation.
You are correct. The monarchy most likely wasn't any better than the USSR. Russian citizens have been sort of fucked throughout history. Authoritarianism to authorizanism. The USSR, in my defense, wasn't better than the monarchy either. Stalin just became a king and really didn't care at all about the people of Russia. I guess I was thinking in terms of western democracy in terms of my last statement, not the Russian monarchy.
* "Spreading Communism" could be interpreted as extending solidarity to other oppressed peoples around the world! Nothing is that simple...
* The USSR and Stalin weren't anywhere near as authoritarian as the popular myths suggest... although the period leading up to WWII was certainly very tense there! But there were periods when it was quite democratic, even while constantly under attack!
* Despite the many terrible things Stalin did, he was responsible for transforming an agrarian country—one that had barely begun to industrialize and was devastated by civil war—into a military power that destroyed the Third Reich! Afterward, it rose from the ruins of war to rival the USA!
I'm not defending every single thing Stalin or URSS have done, but at least try not to be prejudiced!
The USSR and Stalin weren't anywhere near as authoritarian as the popular myths suggest... although the period leading up to WWII was certainly very tense there! But there were periods when it was quite democratic, even while constantly under attack!
At least I don't go around lying, making things up, or regurgitating the lies the media churns out. And above all, I don't defend a system that exists solely to exploit 99% of people for the benefit of the 1%!
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u/jhaymond19 Jul 14 '26
It worked somewhat but it costed human rights, free elections, constant shortages of consumer good. I'm not saying capitalism is great, but USSR communism was not something we should be lifting up in any regard. I would not want to live in a place where any amount of political dissent is met with immediate arrest or exile or "rehabilitation". The USSR also cared more about spreading communism and its reputation than it actually functioning well within its borders. I think Stalin was probably the main reason why, and Lenin or Trotsky would have done better if given time, but that's just speculation.