Soviet Union and satellites before or after Cold War?

[BayCityProgressive]

Hello,

I know this sounds like a strange question but I thought maybe some here at DU would have insight on this issue or perhaps some are form these regions. The collapse of communism was trumped up to be the start of a new peaceful world but..I am not seeing much change for the better. It seems as though these countries have gutted most of their social programs gone into bankruptsy and the governments and media look to be extremely corrupt. So were these people better off communist or capitalist?

[BayCityProgressive]

1. Anybody?

[madeline_con]

2. The ones"better off" are the capitalist corps....

who can exploit even more of the world since the USSR fell.

I'm not defending that regime, just telling you the POV of some of the big conglomerates.

[malaise]

3. Read Jeffrey Sachs

he was the first of 'the Eastern Europe sturctural adjustment model' gurus to jump ship. That in itself was comic tragedy because what went on this those countries was criminal - 1000% inflation, massive devaluation, the looting of poor peoples savings in banks and the removal of the entire social safety net.

For the record that model was pushed by Reagan, Thatcher and a plethora of gurus


http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&q=Jeffrey+Sachs+and+the+neoliberal+model&btnG=Google+Search

http://www.thenation.com/docprint.mhtml?i=20020415&s=smith20020403

one more
http://sociology.berkeley.edu/faculty/EVANS/evans_pdf/king_the_emperor_exposed.pdf

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