TreasureHunter
Well-Known Member
Exactly!
Due to the horrible communist regimes, people cared more about each other, families and local communities were more cohesive, just because they weren't allowed to do almost anything "outside", so they did a lot more "inside": emotionally, in terms of relationships between people.
The communist economic model was unsustainable and absurd, I don't see anything good about. So, this is not to praise anything about communism. Don't get me wrong.
What I wanted to underline was mere spending/purchase behavior, lifestyle, ownership.
Back then you could have. The proportion between salaries and expenses was better (in favor of economies).
The bad part (this could be a long list) - just to name a few, from the point-of-view of the economy:
- you were often limited by communist law (one could not own 8 houses, for example), they even limited people in owning just 1 TV/radio (in some countries, like Romania)
- you were literally forbidden to travel abroad (slave to the regime, like in North Korea - again, Romania was very similar during Ceausescu's regime, East Germany was quite harsh as well, but not so much Hungary or Yugoslavia)
- product scarcity (especially in the 1970's-1980's Poland and Romania throughout communism)
- they gave away food tickets: you could buy bread, milk (again, rationing: just 1 per person/family)
- food scarcity: you were happy if you could eat, let alone... eat well... (again: Romania is a sad example of famine in the 1980's)
- if you could buy a limited amount of goods, property, you were not allowed to buy certain property of goods (like parabolic antennas were a taboo, you could not buy vast areas of agricultural land a person
- almost everything was state-owned
- yes, it was easier to buy a car, but you could only choose from like 3-4 types of cars... the total number of brands on the streets was probably limited to 7-8 at most!
- currency was not convertible: you could not simply go on vacation to Germany, swap your Bulgarian currency and buy a nice Mercedes (even if you could, you would most likely buy peanuts with the same amount that would buy you a car in Bulgaria)
- almost zero imports and if you had the rare chance to work abroad, you were usually not allowed to return with "too many" foreign goods (of much higher quality): like a modern car (for which you wouldn't even find accessories in case of repair, back in your home country)
- almost zero entertainment (Romania, North Korea... but it was more flexible in Czechoslovakia, Hungary, Yugoslavia, where there was plenty of censored "entertainment")
There was no luxury in communism, not for ordinary people. It was Orwellian suffering. There was nothing to be happy about except the small things that really counted: family, friends, fishing, joking...
Then came "capitalism":
- higher wages, but much higher expenses
- credits and credits upon credits; suddenly the former commie states themselves "woke up" in debt and what do they do then? (they tax the people, reduce wages, some even taxed pensions!)
- the transition takes decades (even 30 years after the fall of communism, youngsters from the Ukraine, Bulgaria, Poland still move to the west... even more today: in search of better lives, much higher wages, better education)
- unstable economies depending on a handful of major foreign investors: if one factory leaves, if shakes the economy of Slovakia or Bulgaria
The East is suffering not only because of what communism had ruined, but also because of this harsh transition period, which erodes lives!
And now: most likely an economic crisis will be a third layer on top of all the suffering. It's sad, indeed.
Still: today the trend is towards less ownership.
Airbnb, Uber... they don't even own their assets. And people seem to like the idea. Many are selling their lives to the companies that they work for.
How trendy is it nowadays, how often do we heard this: don't own things, don't buy things, buy memories, buy experiences! <<< yet, it's so dumb, no matter how "Buddhist-Christian non-materialistic" it sounds, it's so irresponsible!
OWN IT or it's not yours. Yes, BUY THINGS. And make sure you're buying the right THINGS.
Stackers know best!
