The USSR had much more of a cradle-to-grave system than Western Europe. The USSR had 0% (legal, anyway) unemployment and it was virtually impossible to be fired. It was illegal to be unemployed for more than two months. Moreover, the state was obligated to find you a job. Also, income inequality was much, much lower than it is in Western Europe.
Russian culture tends to view income inequality _as an evil in itself_. I know many people in the FSU, many of whom have been to Western Europe, who say they prefered the Soviet system to the European one. I wouldn't prefer it myself, but I din't think they're crazy. They simply come from a different cultural background than I do and view the world with different eyes. Russian culture is highly collectivist and always has been. Not everybody wants the same things from life as Bradford DeLong does.
And what is up with those three dots after every sentence...?
Chris Doss
The Russia Journal
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>apparently that such economic experiments were unmitigated disasters (well,
>North Korea certainly is, but it's in a class by itself). This seems to
>presuppose that there is A style of life which appeals to everybody, across
>cultures. Whether you prefer Brezhnev-style socialism or US-style
capitalism
>is going to depend to a great extent on which you find preferable, a
stable,
>cradle-to-grave social security net or lots of quality consumer goods.
Western Europe manages to have both...
Brad DeLong