Not trying to start an argument: what are examples the biggest successes of communist regimes/movements?

Generally speaking, communism usually starts off great for the majority of people. Brings people out of poverty and whatnot. Very, very bad for the rich and upper middle classes but overall the public benefits.

Then authoritarianism kicks in and everything goes to shit really fast. People very quickly lose equality and equal treatment as a result.

Corruption is the biggest, inevitable problem because people naturally want to improve their position relative to their peers. Since that’s incredibly difficult under communism, you end up with lots of quid pro quo. Underground, black markets for anything and everything take hold and become just as important as the main economy.

Basically, it never works out. The end result is authoritarianism and deep corruption every time. Just like other forms of government! Except with communism, the pressures of the system force these sorts of problems to arise much faster.

Corruption often rises from centralizarion of power without having “checks and balances”. So Central economy planning system might be more to blame, than the socialist movement part of communism.

Not to mention, that in a central economy planning system, there is no accurate way for the average Joe to signal on what he needs/wants to be made (talking about consumer items, not base needs).

That kinda creates the need for separate markets to rise to meet the demand, which works without the supervision by the state. The market can’t really self-regulate, so a lot of people end up scammed daily.

Ah… the glory of USSR and the hoops and whistles an average man had to take to buy a shitty radio.

Shit, even if you wanted to have a birthday party, you had to pay extra to get vodka from under the counter.

Corruption often rises from centralizarion of power without having “checks and balances”. So Central economy planning system might be more to blame, than the socialist movement part of communism.

Corruption arises from people desiring better conditions for themselves, and manipulating available levers. There’s nothing about socialism and central planning that makes it more corrupt than capitalism.

Not to mention, that in a central economy planning system, there is no accurate way for the average Joe to signal on what he needs/wants to be made (talking about consumer items, not base needs).

Fundamentally incorrect. Not only can you gather feedback directly, but you can use planned economics based on consumption to reallocate production and distribution.

That kinda creates the need for separate markets to rise to meet the demand, which works without the supervision by the state. The market can’t really self-regulate, so a lot of people end up scammed daily.

Socialist systems can legalize markets and control them by maintaining ownership of the commanding heights of the economy. Black markets arise from problems with the socialist system, but these are not unsolvable problems.

Look I’m all for more equality among peers. And all ideologies sound good on paper. But USSR was broken systematically, and the bribe/banditism culture still left it’s mark on post Soviet republics.

You can even find some “glorious” aspects, that were superior to western counterparts (walkable cities)

But the truth is, that unless you were a part of the elite (or at very least part of the communist party), it was a shithole. It’s not surprising, that when people argue against ideology, they take actual historical evidence rather than follow the metodichka.

The USSR wasn’t “broken systematically,” nor was it a “shithole.” Those are better descriptors for Russia under tsarism and capitalism than under socialism. Following actual historical evidence, the USSR had steady and consistent economic growth, and provided free, high quality education and healthcare, full employment, cheap or free housing, and fantastic infrastructure and city planning. This rapid development resulted in dramatic democratization of society, reduced disparity, doubling of life expectancy, tripling of functional literacy rates to 99.9%, and much more.

The truth, when judged based on historical evidence and contextualization, is that socialism was the best thing to happen to Russia in the last few centuries, and its absence has been devastating.

I love~ your actual historical evidence. But I saw it with my own eyes. All great on paper. But when you needed healthcare, you also must bring chocolate (or another small gift) to your doctor.

Everyone was employed true, but you see, people sometimes went to vacation outside the wall. The main thing they brought back, are the stories/photos of grocery stores.

My dessert were cookies with butter…

People did not starve, but when they shipped back bananas to the state, you had to stand in line for hours. Even then half of them were sold under the counter

Housing was free/cheap, if you had a way to move faster up the ladder of families still waiting for housing. You could easily wait 20-30 years if you’re not the elite. Also if you wanted to live close to your family, tough luck

Education was actually good, but most prestigious professions were a taxi driver, sausage factory worker etc…

I’m still glad the CCCP dissolved. I will not argue that Russia is better after that, because it didn’t change for the better, but here I’m much happier