[p2p-research] People happier under Soviet-styled socialism?

[Michel Bauwens]

I'm not really surprised, having spent many years holidaying in Romania,
where my parents built unofficial relations over the years ...

Yes, the state was hateful, but 'average' people could ignore it to a great
degree and lived there lives not working very hard, with time for family and
friendships, and all kinds of unofficial exchange networks ...

I think the article is misleading as it uses democracy as a yardstick,but
that's not the issue, capitalism is, especially the brand that replaced the
system, i.e. neoliberal shock therapy.

Let's not forget Russia lost 15 years a life expectancy in a decade, a
dramatic decline in living standards, with a wholesale abandonment of the
safety net well below European welfare standards ... At the same time, there
was a straight looting of state property, while on a local level, mafia
organizations took over ...

It's only in the last few years that things have picked up ...

This being said, if you were young and dynamic, and hated the old system,
then the new could be experienced as a liberation, as long as it was working
for you (but see in east germany for very dissatisfied youth turning to the
extreme right)

I'm also surmising that some countries, especially those that had strong
civil societies before  the stalinist takeovers, did better in their
adjustments, i.e. the baltic states, poland, czechia,

Michel

On Wed, Jun 10, 2009 at 4:20 AM, Ryan Lanham <rlanham1963 at gmail.com> wrote:

> http://www.labspaces.net/97978/Are_socialists_happier_than_capitalists_
>
> It may have something to do with where you start, and then where you test,
> but even still, I am frankly surprised.
>
> Ryan
>
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