Was the Soviet Union very powerful at its peak? The most outrageous political and economic fallacy

Hello everyone, my name is Marley. Today we will continue to expose the political and economic fallacies that have been widely circulated in Chinese public opinion in recent years and the truth. One of the most bizarre ones is the Soviet nostalgia or complimentism derived from the disintegration of the Soviet Union. There have been a lot of absurd remarks regretting the fall of the Soviet Union, and there is even a large wave of Soviet fans on station B, as if reminding all the time. Generation after generation of communist successors, although the eldest brother is dead, the legend of his brother is still circulating in the rivers and lakes. Then let's take a look at this trend of thought.

Putin, an old friend of the Chinese people, once said: Whoever does not regret the disintegration of the Soviet Union has no conscience; whoever wants to restore the old Soviet Union has no brain!

Fallacy 1**, I miss the Soviet Union because it was the first socialist country built with faith in human history**

As for the historical background of the establishment of the Soviet Union, in fact, there are already very complete historical data to verify it, so I will not describe it in detail here. Let's focus on what the so-called beliefs are. Of course, we must mention the great Marxist practitioner and proletarian teacher Comrade Vladimir Lenin.

Comrade Lenin was born in an aristocratic family in the Tsarist Russia era, and he was an out-and-out rich second-generation. However, due to his aggressive nature, he was always dissatisfied with the growth path planned by his family, so his boyhood was full of dissatisfaction with the society and a spirit of resistance until he encountered Marxism, and the concept of class struggle matched Lenin's character. . So he began his lifelong pursuit, that is, to establish a new social order through violent revolution. This kind of idea will of course be suppressed by the rulers, so Comrade Lenin began his life of exile in various European countries for more than ten years, carrying out revolutions everywhere. During the revolution, all reformists and revisionists who disagreed with his views adopted the The attitude of repression and rupture, that is, the so-called Lao Tzu is the direct disciple of Marxism, and you are all sidetrackers.

During the First World War, at that time Russia and Germany were at war with each other, and Russia had just experienced the February Revolution that overthrew the monarchy. , Comrade Lenin's Bolsheviks are of course the backbone of these organizations. At that time, Comrade Lenin had a bizarre idea that he called on various countries to stop fighting each other on the grounds of anti-war. At the same time, he preached everywhere that the proletariat of the world should unite and that we would turn the world war into a "civil war" in which countries overthrow the bourgeoisie. Bar. Due to the pressure of the two-front war, Germany wanted to truce with Russia. Seeing such a stupefied young man, it might as well have an idea and gave Lenin a large sum of money, arranged for a train to send him back and supported him in his revolution. Then everyone knows what happened next.

Speaking of which, you will find that the main line of Comrade Lenin's story is strikingly similar to that of a later great leader.

Therefore, we return to the so-called yearning for a country built with great feelings. No matter what the motive is, the behavior and attitude behind such feelings are enough for future generations to reflect.

Fallacy 2, I miss the spirit of the Soviet Union's "Great Patriotic War" and the same hatred of the "Anti-Fascist Alliance" (Stefanie Sun's BGM I miss)

First of all, the Great Patriotic War itself is the perspective of the victor, which is highly consistent with the current mainstream Chinese value of "win the king and lose the bandit". It is understandable to say that the Russians go to cherish the memory. As Chinese people, especially some so-called military fans, it is easy to fall into the tactical level of this war and cannot extricate themselves. China was invited to participate in the military parade, which created the illusion of a "Sino-Russian united front" in the new era.

Then let's go back to the Soviet Union during World War II. Due to the orientation of Chinese public opinion, the role of the Soviet Union in World War II was almost always a positive ally. Actually? As we all know, in 1939, one week after the signing of the "German-Soviet Non-aggression Pact", the Soviet Union and Germany invaded Poland at almost the same time, and Poland was destroyed. After that, the Soviet Union successively invaded the Baltic states, Romania and other countries according to the secret terms of the Entente. At that time, the Soviet Union took advantage of its military strength, and took advantage of Germany to be a powerful force on the western front. It also bullied the surrounding small countries one after another. The territory expanded by more than 400,000 square kilometers in two years. Such a high-profile show of communist muscles, do you think it can save Germany's worries? One mountain cannot tolerate two tigers, so Germany began to counterattack the Soviet Union again, and then the Moscow Defense War and the Stalingrad Defense War were praised by the world.

So what are you excited about as a rogue-fighting war?

When it comes to the relationship with China, it is very ghostly. Let's not talk about the bad things done in the era of Tsarist Russia. I will only mention a few main points in time. In 1929, the Middle East Railway incident led to the Soviet occupation of Heixiazi Island in the northeast. By the way, what is very strange is that the CCP at that time not only did not condemn the invaders, but instead proposed to "arm the Soviet Union". In 1937, when the Anti-Japanese War began, the Soviet Union voluntarily signed the "Sino-Soviet Non-aggression Pact" with China, and voluntarily requested military assistance. In 1941, in order to prevent the fire in the backyard, he immediately signed the "Soviet-Japanese Non-aggression Pact" with Japan, so the aid to China was stopped. In 1945, when the general situation of the Anti-Japanese War was set, the Soviet Union suddenly declared war on Japan, and under the guise of harvesting the Japanese army in Manchuria, it captured the Northeast, burning, killing, looting, and doing all the bad things.

So, when has such a "Tie Hanhan" with such a low EQ for his own benefit ever really made an alliance with you?

Fallacy 3, lamenting that the Soviet Union achieved industrialization in a very short period of time and became a world power in one fell swoop

This fallacy is the classic cluster fallacy and the herring fallacy. That is, militarization = industrialization = world power. If you say that the so-called power of the Soviet Union has paid a huge price, admirers will say that at least one political force has emerged to compete with Western society.

Let us first talk about the achievements of the so-called Soviet Union's industrialization. From 1928 to 1991, Big Brother used thirteen consecutive five-year plans to carry out socialist construction, vigorously develop metallurgy, machinery, chemical industry and their supporting military industries, until the post-Stalin period. Reach the pinnacle of power on paper. However, due to the excessive emphasis on industry and neglect of the people, the country was advancing and the people were retreating, which made the Soviet economy seriously unbalanced and the people were struggling. There were many economic crises and people's riots in the middle. Among them, famine broke out between 1932 and 1933. In 1933, the actual income of workers was only 1926. about one-tenth of the time. As well as the problem of unequal distribution caused by severe corruption, these crises were either concealed or directly and bloody suppressed in the times of Lenin and Stalin.

During World War II, this model of concentrating resources to do major events did play a major role. In addition, energy and minerals were good, and it became a major exporter of raw materials in one fell swoop. So people have a misunderstanding that if it wasn't for this system, how could the Soviet Union win World War II? But many social problems were ignored. At that time, the German army swept the Soviet countryside, and the peasants in the whole village rebelled. They were fed up with the oppression of collectivism, and many people became the leading party for the Germans. Of course, another very important reason is the secret material assistance of the United States, so the victory of the Great Patriotic War mentioned at the beginning did not depend entirely on the Soviet Union.

As for the beginning of the Cold War, it is a relatively familiar story. In order to support the United States, the already unhealthy economy began to deteriorate until it collapsed.

Therefore, the so-called brilliant fireworks are also in an instant.

Fallacy 4**, the Soviet Union once reached the peak of socialism in the middle of the Cold War and was enough to compete with the United States. **

The scientific and technological progress, universal medical care, free housing, and the richness of the people's spiritual culture and other examples provided by these Su fans illustrate the awesomeness of the Soviet Union.

Let’s talk about the basic housing needs of the people. In fact, the Soviet Union has experimented with so-called public housing since the founding of the People’s Republic of China. There are basically no “independent” houses in the old housing resources. All houses are confiscated. The privileges enjoyed until the Khrushchev Building and the Brezhnev Building, which are talked about with great interest, seem to have solved the housing problem of many people. What is the actual situation? Let's take a few simple examples.

First of all, the early shared housing in the Soviet Union was almost always small in size below 50 square meters. Public toilets, public bathrooms, and public kitchens are used, so there are often quarrels over the kitchen and toilet. The rooms are small, the residents have almost no privacy, there is no property management, the smell is high, and the neighborhood relationship is very bad. Any trivial matter may cause a lot of noise in the whole house.

By the time of Khrushchev, his idea was to improve the living conditions of urban residents in the shortest time and at the lowest cost. Therefore, large-scale new modular apartments began to be built. Using the most economical and lightweight prefabricated materials, a small building with several floors could be quickly built like a copy-paste method. Due to the small space, residents with poor facilities could only be forced to accept minimalism. ideological way of life. Because of the material, the sound insulation of the room is poor. The top floor is humid again, freezing in winter and leaking in summer, and the residents on the top floor are miserable. When Khrushchev stepped down in 1964, the housing problem for only 20% of the population was resolved.

Then came the Brezhnev era, taller and more spacious apartment buildings began to be built, the area became larger, and some even had elevators and central air-conditioning facilities, which were very close to the elevator apartments we live in now. By the late 1970s, the housing problem for urban residents had been basically solved, but there was no way to do it in rural areas and other small allied countries.

However, do you think that socialist wool is so easy to pull? Of course, you have to submit an application. According to the actual situation of the applicant, how big the house is allocated, where is the allocation, and whether everyone can get the house. Even if the house is allocated, there is still a waiting period and construction period of about 2 years, and it is not necessarily a house that you are satisfied with. The point is that the process of dividing the house is full of routines, and the friends who understand can make up their own minds, so I will not give examples in detail.

Speaking of which, do the post-80s generation feel so similar to their childhood memories? Those who are fans of the Soviet Union, please ask your parents or even older elders how to fight with national welfare and then make a video. Due to space constraints, I won't talk about how the Soviet Union's so-called universal medical care, universal work, and spiritual and cultural life are enriched.

The universal welfare of housing alone burdened the Soviet Union with a heavy financial burden. In the 1970s and 1980s, the expenditures used to subsidize agriculture, industry and personnel welfare accounted for more than 40% of the national finances, and the rest of the money had to be shared with the elderly. America plays the arms race, Star Wars. How do you play?

Fallacy 5: Comparing the economic situation of the country after the disintegration of the Soviet Union with that of the Soviet Union shows that it is not as good as the Soviet model.

Such as the status quo in Russia, this trick is one of the most shameless and most confusing fallacies.

Let's first look at a report by a certain official media, which has been repeatedly quoted by various media. The report stated that “In 2001, a decade after the collapse of the Soviet Union, Russia’s gross domestic product was about $300 billion, one-tenth the size of the Soviet Union in 1991. Russia has changed from a powerful country to an economically irrelevant one. Second- and third-rate countries in the world.

In 1988, the average salary in the Soviet Union could buy 1,250 kilograms of potatoes; in 1992, only 172 kilograms of potatoes could be bought.

In 2008, Russia returned to its 1989 income level. Considering the huge gap between rich and poor after the disintegration of the Soviet Union, the lives of the people at the bottom are even more miserable”

First of all, the comparison of Russia's GDP in 2001 with the Soviet Union ten years ago is a logical error. Although the former Soviet Union was dominated by Russia, are the other participating countries not counted as GDP? So 10 years later, the data that Russia is only one-tenth of the former Soviet Union looks really shocking.

Second, use the average wages of different periods to compare the purchasing power of a certain commodity, a basic common sense, what is the median wage in 1988? Is the potato price here a free market price? Or the price set by the state? Besides currency devaluation, what comparisons are there with 1992? For example, you said that in the era of planned economy, houses did not require money but the quality was poor. If the absolute value of the income is the same, which one would you say is better?

Third, I mentioned later that Russia returned to the income level of 1989 in 2008. Why did it recover? Does it mean that Russia has achieved some results in the post-Soviet era?

Fourth, the huge gap between the rich and the poor after the disintegration of the Soviet Union? Was the distribution of wealth fair before the disintegration? In fact, there is a lot of historical evidence and data to illustrate the problems of corruption and unfair distribution in the former Soviet Union. How many Russians are willing to go back to the era of eating a big pot of rice and living in a cheese building? Is this the disintegration pot? Or is it the issue of Putin the Great's management of water quality?

Therefore, let's not say whether the data above is true or not, it is just logically wrong and messy and deliberate.

There is also a classic saying, which has been mentioned by our old friend Zhang Jiao, a very important reason for the disintegration of the Soviet Union was that the management was fooled by Western discourse, and the consciousness of communism turned, and then the "shock" taken by Russia as the representative therapy”, leading to the collapse of the Russian economy. Therefore, the leader once again reminded the communist successors earnestly and earnestly, first, once the country is revolutionized, it will suffer, and second, complete Westernization will die.

Here, we need to admit the fact that Russia's transformation has not been very successful, and it can even be said that it has failed. But Master Zhang made several classic logical mistakes (of course I believe he was deliberately fooling),

First, there is the "misattribution" fallacy, where two things may be related and one thing is the cause of the other. It gives the impression that Russia's economic malaise is a direct consequence of the collapse of the Soviet Union. But there's no way to prove that Russia would be better off if the Soviet Union didn't collapse.

Second, the "slippery slope fallacy" can be understood as a chain reaction of misattribution. If A happens, then B will happen. If B happens, then everything related to B will happen, which means that A should not happen. Such as some of the above statements.

Third, the "appeal to fear" fallacy emphasizes its negative consequences to increase the credibility of the conclusions. For example, the terrible effect of shock therapy, how big the gap between rich and poor, how miserable people's lives are.

What these people won't tell you is that after the disintegration of the Soviet Union, in addition to these unfortunate countries, many countries have brought economic recovery and people's happiness index increased. For example, the rise of Central and Eastern European economies represented by Poland, and the three Baltic countries represented by Estonia are all high-income countries.

Well, there are many, many more stories that can be told about the Soviet Union. Due to space constraints, let’s talk about it here for now. So what kind of existence does the Soviet Union have? Is it worth remembering?

I see a lot of people expressing a romantic sentiment towards the Soviet Union, which is for the sake of equality for all, for the laborers, and for the ideal of the proletariat. What I prefer to believe is that the young people may be forced to live under the pressure and helplessness of life, and have no choice but to yearn for and imagine that utopian way of life, and romanticize it in their hearts.

I think all these are understandable, but I have seen many people argue that the disintegration of the Soviet Union does not explain the failure of communism, but only the failure of the Soviet model. I think it would be better to start from the current limitations of human cognition and the drawbacks of human nature itself, and then analyze the structural and logical problems of his existence.

Well, that's it for this video. If you are interested in this topic, please leave your comments. If you think it's not bad, please like, forward and subscribe to support it. I'm Marley, see you next time, 88.