The eastern system in practice is horrible and awful Butan..
Corruption there is the norm on all levels of society. Every little inch of power is turned into monetary or other gains on a whole different level than you see in western countries. That system is a ME ME ME ME system 100 times worse than western system.
This is what people in the west just don't get. Because wasn't it supposed to be socialism over there? Not as hard core society as here?
In reality, life in USSR and post-USSR was very though. A culture of lying and deceit was bred since stalin's purges. A necessity for survival in many people's eyes.
....
In Poland (USSR light) they have a word: "Kombinowac" a verb which means to "fix" to "trick it", which was a complete necessity during communism if you wanted something, and I would say Polish society still suffers from that mentality. It could be simple schemes like: I help your cousin get a car, and you help my daughter get into medical school. It has also a more sinister side though, where people would always try to trick you, so everyone tried to trick the other person back. Like the car would have it's radio ripped out because it wasn't mentioned..
Teachers in my school, this year wanted to kick out a student for various reasons, but they had no legal grounds. So the teachers internally agreed not to consult the student on his project. Without consultation his exam was invalid, thus he got kicked out. In Poland, such powerabuse is common, and there is nothing a student can do about it. No repercussions to the teachers involved.
Basically: People in power can do what they want with no repercussion. You can be fucked suddenly on a whim by people in power, and there is jack shit you can do.
This constant paranoia is much much MUCH worse in Russia. Law is easily bought. Just ask western (or russian.. )companies that have tried to start telecom or whatnot. Some corrupt siberian court in middle of nowhere can make any contract void and null.
Butan, you are a reasonable person, and I do believe you see me as one as well.
Just.. go there. You seem to have some kind of connection. Go there and see for yourself.
It's not a good place for humans to live their lives. At least not compared to the west. This is why I understand and sympathize with Maidan. Those people saw there was another way, and they wanted their country to do the right thing.
I don't love the west, it's just the best there is, and way more able to improve itself than a static eastern system. By far the best of two evils.
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