Are there any thriving socialist countries?

Question

Some say Cuba is thriving, but what I see is a bunch of repressed people who will get in troube if they step put of line. You wonder why Cubans aren't world travelers....lol.

Answer 1

People that say china are wrong because china is a socialist country socially not economically the operate like capitalists

Answer 2

Cuba and China are not socialist. Cuba is communist in the Leninist way and subsequent soviet totalitarian way with excellent education (100 percent literacy rate) but the economic blocade of 50 years has hurt just about every other aspect of life on Cuba including making the leaders paranoid and causing repression as a result of all the plots against them.

Other than that, China is communist NOT socialist, it rules by MAOIST principles. It is softening towards the west but still very hesitant and it is a sleeper country that may very well rise to dominate the world post US.

The Scandinavian countries are all socialist and they have very high standards of living. I hope this answers your question.

Please do not mistake tolatarian dictatorships and communist regimes with democratic socialist republics. Canada is a social democracy but not fully socialist. Over the last 30 years it has been following the lead of the rest of the western world and shifting to the right though not as quickly as the US.

Answer 3

This depends on the level of socialism you ask for. Much of Europe runs under a democratic socialism which involves a strong welfare state, while maintaining democratically elected leaders. By this measurement, France and Germany are both fairly socialist states, and definitely remain wealthy.

If you mean socialism as in communism, then I would say no. Currently, the remaining states that embrace communism are Cuba, North Korea, Vietnam, Laos and China. Socially, all communist countries are repressed by their very nature of perverted Marxism, filtered through Stalin, Mao, and Kim Il-Sung.

By GDP, Cuba is the best of the communist nations, with $3,900 per capita. According to Wikipedia, this would place it somewhere in the middle of the world in terms of ranking. For comparison, Brazil's GDP is $4,320 per capita, nominally.

Of course, this does not take into account purchasing power, availability of goods and services, and governmental services offered. If personal freedom is put aside, Cuba is thriving as well as could be expected for a Caribbean nation with virtually no US contact.

So, it depends on what your definition of "socialism" is, and just how much sacrifice of freedom is acceptable. Most world comparisons praise Scandinavia for wealth, happiness, and quality of life. Those nations also have strong welfare states, a lot of economic socialism, and tax rates that would make any American howl in rage and grab a shotgun.

Answer 4

No country that I know of. A socialist form of government is repression and it takes the creativity and initiative out of people. It is also a cause of despair, because no matter how great your ideas are, they will be taken from you for the greater good of the country, and you still have the same status as everyone else. (Except the people in power) It's an idealistic fallacy.

Answer 5

No. So far socialism has failed to create wealth, acknowledge human rights and preserve the environment.

I take issue with the examples of Sweden, et al, since they are technically welfare states. The government doesn't actually own most of the means of production; instead, they heavily tax the profits of the means of production.

Anyway, in the recent election in Sweden, the right-wing trounced the left-wing because the people were sick and tired of being mere cogs in the "deep thinkers'" grand experiment.

Answer 6

Sweden and other Scandinavian countries are doing pretty well... and many of them are social democracies... which is pretty close

are there any countries that use pure capitalism that are thriving?

the simple fact is... most countries use a mix of both, like the U.S., Western Europe and Japan... and that seems to have the best results...

Answer 7

YEah, most of Europe....oh wait a minute, they have unemployment rates that number 30%.

We need to make Cuba the next territory of the US. We still need some payback for them rusky missiles. Could you imagine how well Cuba would do under our systyem of government. I am sure the people would be much happier.

Answer 8

Much of Europe is socialist. The Scandanavian countries come to mind right off. They are all doing pretty good right now.

Answer 9

No, socialism never works, and never will. Social democracies are capitalist nations in which the government taxes heavily and then redistributes money. Economic growth is hampered, but it exists.

China is communist in name only. They have been full blown capitalism for years, despite their repression of personal liberties. China is actually a fascist country now, which means private ownership, but no freedom of speech.

Answer 10

China has had one of the fastest growing economies in the world and Venezuela has had success because of their oil money. I'm not convinced that socialism is the reason for their success though. I already mentioned the role of oil in Venezuela, and China's success has occurred as it has been becoming a larger part of the capitalist world economy.

Someone above mentions Scandanavia. I would say that they are capitalist oriented economies with governments that tax more heavily and spend more on social programs than they do in most other capitalist countries. I wouldn't call them socialist.