SHIH writes:
You must know that none of these countries you mention are socialist in any shape or form. A capitalist pig like Donald Trump would be quite at home in Uzbekistan, hell, he could be Islam Karimov’s home buddy (a real poster boy of capitalism – Trump is a big asshole, an asshole with capital letter A — I really don’t like him)
The ground reality is that countries in Central Asia have really gone to hell and people want to escape from these countries only if someone agrees to take them. Even a failed nation like Pakistan has to deal with a lot of refugees from Uzbekistan and Tajikistan, that tells you a lot. Uzbekistan is one of the largest sources of women sold into sex slavery and prostitution including in Indian cities and unemployment figures are sky high. Unless you happen to be a rich businessman well-connected to the government, your life is pretty much hopeless. Child labor is rampant.
Kazakhstan is somewhat in better shape that’s because it’s indirectly controlled by Russia and the current government is a puppet of Putin.
As for Iran, that country has gone to hell…..it came in news recently that the government had to pressurize advertising companies not to promote chicken on billboards and television. That is because the chicken prices are so high that average Iranians can’t afford it any longer. Prostitution is rife and people are unemployed; check out this documentary where middle-class women in Iran are forced to the world’s oldest profession because the economy is in worst shape – a really heart-wrenching video series.
Russia and Ukraine of course, do not fall in the categories I mentioned but neither are they socialist at par with the EU which is a real welfare, socialist economy. Belarus in fact is as good as say Czech Republic or Poland. Nice countries to live in.
Well if you want to live in this former Communist paradise called Uzbekistan, let me know as I still have excellent contacts there. Trust me, even with enough money in your pocket, you would want to run away as quickly as you can. KIDNAPPING of foreign tourists is quite common and I came close to being abducted by an Islamist, Taliban-style group. Had I not been sober that day, it would have been all over and I would probably have been spending the rest of my life in a cold dungeon with no electricity and might not have never heard of the iPhone. That is if they didn’t decide to behead me for being an infidel.
India has its share of problems and it’s an unjust, unfair society where poor people get the stick for being born poor. But it’s still one of the best places to live for middle-class Indians. There are over 1 million high net worth individuals in a city like Mumbai (also known for its slums) which creates a bustling city with positive vibes, in terms of wealth creation Mumbai ranks among top 10 cities of the whole world. There are lot more opportunities for growth. In capitalism parlance, the trickle down works quite well here. Lot more liveable than Uzbekistan.
However, as far as HEALTH, MALNUTRITION, INFANT MORTALITY, EDUCATION and other parameters are concerned, India is still a third world place. And it will always remain — the problem is not a lack of money. The problem is cultural — Indian rich are real guttersnipes and a very selfish country where poor are allowed to die on the streets and it concerns no one. This country needs Jesus to be on the right track.
The question to ask is — would you be HEALTHY, EDUCATED and Poor, unemployed in Iran/Uzbekistan or have to buy health insurance in the India but still live in a land of opportunities. There’s absolutely no comparison.
I believe the poster has made an excellent critique of the Stans from a socialist POV. From a Left or socialist POV, clearly these places leave much to be desired. Sky-high unemployment, child slavery, sex trafficking? Good Lord. It it looking like the Stans got rid of Communism but put in its place some particularly monstrous alternative system. It seems that what they put in after Communism is neither socialism nor capitalism but instead is some awful hybrid containing the worst of both systems.
However, Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan, Iran, etc. all have superb education, health and nutrition figures. Maternal mortality, child mortality and malnutrition rates are very low in all of the Stans. You do not get great figures like that in a free market capitalist country. Great health and nutrition figures like that can only come from a great socialist sector of the state which supplies food, schooling and nutrition for the people. In a free market capitalist state, all schooling is private and all health care is privatized. Nutrition figures are usually bad as food is not subsidized for the poor so they go hungry.
So in that sense, the Stans are still socialist countries in some very important respects. I do not have any updated information, but I assume that health care and education are free or very cheap in the Stans. They also have good road networks, few slums, and good housing.
Compare them to the capitalist states like India and Pakistan around them. Malnutrition rates: India – 50%, Pakistan – 34%. Health figures in Pakistan and India are horrific. The slums of Pakistan and India are nightmarish. The roads in both countries are shit. Health care is awful in both lands, and the education systems are horrible. In fact, in rural India and much of Pakistan, there is simply no education system to speak of!
Iran is doing ok. The education system is good and the people eat well. Malnutrition in Iran is very low, the health care system is great and the road networks are excellent. There are few real slums in Iran. The 1979 Revolution was socialist in many respects and since then, Iran has been a socialist country in a lot of ways. Ahmadinejad pretty much ran as a socialist last time around and that was why he won.
I do not agree that the wealth is trickling down well in India. In fact, I do not agree that wealth trickles down anywhere, nor do I agree that it ever has or will. Trickle down theory is simply a lie.
I could care less how many rich folks there are in India. Who cares! Imagine if Jesus came back today and looked at India. Do you honestly think he would cheer for all the rich people in India? Hell no. Jesus cared nothing whatsoever for the rich because there is no reason to care about such folks at all. Jesus cared only and always for the poor and only the poor. In fact, Liberation Theology which I support believes in “the preferential option for the poor.” This is my philosophy. The rich do not need our support, encouragement or cheers. They do well enough on their own. It is the poor who need our sustenance.
I am not interested in countries where it is horrific to be poor but great to be rich or middle class. Who cares! Do you honestly think that we socialists value such things? What good is India’s “land of opportunity” for it’s 1 billion poor people? It’s worth fuck all.
