[WS:] I am overposting, sorry, but I do not want that to stand unanswered. Yes, I AM unapologetically nostalgic for Really Existing Socialism (RES) - its leaders, government figures, and numerous faults notwithstanding.
^^^^ CB; Yea, and maybe we can bring in a new and improved socialism, even, learning from the shortcomings of the past.
Arise ye children of starvation.
Arise ye wretched of the earth.
For justice thunders condemnation.
There's a better world in birth.
^^^^^
First, it made Eastern Europe - the former backwater of Europe - great and respected in the world. Second, and perhaps more importantly to those born in the US - it scared shitless the US oligarchy, forcing it to concessions - from the New Deal, to the civil rights, and to Great Society programs. Without the Soviet "threat" the US would have looked as it does now - as a neoliberal playing ground for the rich. I think US lefties should thank the x-USSR at least for that.
I am pretty sure many people around the world are nostalgic as well. Despite its flaws, the RES demonstrated that there is an alternative to capitalism, after all. It may have been purely symbolic, but it did keep capitalists and their lackeys in line.
Wojtek
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