• Cowbee [he/they]@lemmy.ml
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    5 days ago

    The USSR, Cuba, PRC, etc. have all been tremendous improvements on what came before, and remarlably progressive movements. Key life metrics like life expectancy, education, housing rates, literacy rates, and more skyrocketed in these countries. I don’t know where you live, but unless you live in China, Vitenam, the DPRK, Cuba, Laos, Venezuela, or even Nicaragua, you certainly don’t live in socialism.

    Secondly, “liberal socialism” isn’t a thing. You’re referring to social democracy, ie capitalism with safety nets, and it doesn’t work because it relies on imperialism. Scandinavian countries participate in the imperialist system plundering the global south in order to subsidize their safety nets.

    • OccamsRazer@lemmy.world
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      5 days ago

      Those metrics improved worldwide during those time periods. It had more to do with the development of vaccines and antibiotics.

      • Cowbee [he/they]@lemmy.ml
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        5 days ago

        Nope, had more to do with land reform, industrialization, and the mass social programs implemented by socialist governments, including literacy campaigns and expanded access to healthcare. Vaccines don’t do much if you don’t actually give them to people.

          • Cowbee [he/they]@lemmy.ml
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            4 days ago

            It didn’t go up around the rest of the world evenly. Most countries that adopted socialism were extremely poor and underdeveloped beforehand, and having much better access to healthcare was massively impactful, same with employment, housing, and land. Life expectancy was highest in the imperialist countries like the US and Europe, they didn’t have life expectancies in the 30s even pre-vaccine, at least not at the same time.

            • OccamsRazer@lemmy.world
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              4 days ago

              Which countries are you thinking of? There aren’t that many that still consider themselves socialist or communist. Cuba is really the only good example i can think of that fits what you are describing.

              • Cowbee [he/they]@lemmy.ml
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                4 days ago

                The PRC, DPRK, Vietnam, Laos, and Cuba are all socialist countries, with Venezuela and Nicaragua as budding proto-socialist projects. The former USSR was of course also socialist.

                • OccamsRazer@lemmy.world
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                  4 days ago

                  Cuba and China are currently 56 and 57th in the world for life expectancy. Even if there was a time where their life expectancy improved faster than the rest of the world because of socialist policies, their edge has since then disappeared.

                  • Cowbee [he/they]@lemmy.ml
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                    4 days ago

                    When compared to peer countries, they consistently outperform, thanks to the capabilities of socialism. Cuba is under intense embargo, and the countries at the top are all imperialist, existing only due to plundering the global south.

    • Bullerfar@lemmy.world
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      5 days ago

      SocioLiberal parties controlling the country, is what I call Liberal Socialism. Where we still donate 60% of our wealth for everyone to enjoy, while we still have some sort of free market, where politicians won’t directly interfere.

      • Cowbee [he/they]@lemmy.ml
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        5 days ago

        You’re talking about social democracy, capitalism with safety nets. Socialism is neither safety nets nor taxation, but a mode of production centering public ownership as the principle aspect of the economy. All of the European social democracies rely on imperialism to support these safety nets, they are closer to global parasites than a closed, self-sufficient system.

        Socialism, as found in the USSR, PRC, Cuba, etc has resulted in dramatic expansions in personal freedoms for the working classes.