CM,

One of the main reasons for the collapse of the communist movement throughout the world was when it became apparent how many millions of people had to be murdered to maintain stability in the communist regimes.

The communist movements of today survive on a diet of amnesia and denial. Either the despotism in the USSR, China and North Korea were exaggerated or this simply wasn't real communism. That the economic model of communism was a complete failure didn't deter these idiots either.

SM,

I don't often agree, but I go along with the above. Russia, China, NK they were desperate failures at the time of revolution, ripe for tyrannical despots to take over. They all survived on some sort of "cult of the leader". So called Communism can't survive if there is a substantive middle class, then private property becomes important. China has that problem today, they are a victim of their own success to much of a middle class.

Paul

The USSR, North Korea, Cuba and China communist societies were all tyrannies and economically inefficient.

In fact, there hasn't been a single communist society that has been a tyranny that hasn't impoverished its people.

SM,

Those countries were impoverished to start with. China has done well enough starting from a low base with its sort of strange brand of capitalistic authoritarian socialism. We can only compare China with simmilar India, well whose done the better?

Paul,

China's economy has improved dramatically when they effectively ditched socialism. Many workers work the 996 (9am to 9pm 6 days a week) and China's GINI index is higher than any capitalist OECD country.

China has no application of Labor laws, no unemployment pay, no pension, and little to no health care.

SM,

In fairness, China has compulsory worker insurance. What can't be denied is the rapidly growing middle class, particularly in Chinese cities. Evidence of this is the growing Chinese tourism. Take 1949 as a base both China and India were economically at a very low ebb, today China is well ahead of India as for living standards. Mao was right for China in 1949, but he outlived his usefulness, he died at the right time.

Mao's crimes are legendary, and he should be forever condemned for them. Stalin was just as bad. You have to look at the internal conditions of these countries when the despots came to power.