lbo-talk-digest V1 #7345

ChrisD(RJ) chrisd at russiajournal.com
Sat Feb 1 00:42:45 PST 2003


At 10:08 AM 01/31/2003 -0500, you wrote:
>It's amazing for someone who grew up hearing the most hysterical cold
>war propaganda to read these tales from Woj of daily life in Poland
>and from ChrisD of the kids in Komsomol drinking, flirting, and
>listening to Pink Floyd. Has anyone done anything on daily life under
>formerly existing socialism?

I back them 100%. The problem in Romania was mostly Ceausescu, who was truly demented, and the IMF loans, which bled the country dry. The other problem was the legacy of hundreds of years of colonial and feudal servitude (Ottoman empire) and the habits and consciousness these engendered.

Joanna --- This is why I don't get all hot and bothered about, e.g., the WWP being called "Stalinists." "Stalinism" is a word. How people actually live is what matters. I know nothing about the WWP, but if the "Stalinism" they defend is that of Brezhnev, big fucking deal. People in the USSR lived much better under Brezhnev than under Gorbachen. BTW, people he released from the Gulag still put flowers on Khrushchev's grave. A real oaf, but he did a lot of good. I think history will treat him kindly.



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