As the capitalist press celebrated the 20th anniversary of the fall of the Berlin Wall, residents of Russia and the former Soviet bloc countries lamented the social and economic hardships resulting from the traumatic transition to capitalism.
A poll conducted by the Pew Research Center found that over half of the Russian population favored life in the Soviet Union compared with today’s casino capitalism. Seventy-two percent of Hungarians say they fared better economically “under communism,” when employment was a basic right.
Another poll, conducted by the BBC World Service, reported than only 11 percent of those questioned in 27 countries believed that capitalism was “working well.” Twenty-three percent of respondents said that capitalism is “fatally flawed,” that as a system it cannot be reformed.
The recent global economic crisis has certainly shed light on the grim realities of life under capitalism. The disparity between the rich and the poor sharpens every day as workers lose their jobs and homes. The excesses of greed and the ensuing corruption associated with it are more and more coming into the open.
