5d ago

Monthly ration in Poland, early 1980s

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Sounds like a miserable existence. You're going to need a lot more vodka than that to cope.
- Rationing in the early 80s is considered to be one of the major agitating factors that led to increased labor union activity and, thus, the eventual end of the Communist regime in Poland. Would seem that it was not nearly enough vodka to quietly cope!
  
  I can see why. Like if I was flat broke, these rations would be super welcome, but as an ongoing totality of what I could have for all of my labor? No, fuck that! The people at the top were obviously hoarding all the wealth, which seems to always happen every time this form of government is tried.
  
  Well, you still had to purchase the food, you were just limited by ration cards in how much of certain goods you could purchase.
  
  Oh shit, that's even worse!
  
  It happens every time any form of government is tried to be honest. The problem is with people, not the system of government.
  The major problem—one of the major problems, for there are several—one of the many major problems with governing people is that of whom you get to do it; or rather of who manages to get people to let them do it to them. To summarize: it is a well-known fact that those people who must want to rule people are, ipso facto, those least suited to do it. To summarize the summary: anyone who is capable of getting themselves made President should on no account be allowed to do the job. To summarize the summary of the summary: people are a problem.
  -Douglas Adams, The Restaurant at the End of the Universe
  
  Right. Which is a fundamental reason why the government should not be trusted to act in the best interest of the people. There must be checks and balances, and they must be held accountable and be forced to do their duty. The USA had a great run of this, but over the last 4 decades politicians have changed the lay of the land to benefit themselves and their donors more and more, and the people haven't the gumption, will, or faculties to challenge them and hold them to account. Politicians have also realized that much of our system relied upon integrity, or the assumption that the individual would follow the system, with very little to no consequences if they just do whatever they want.
  
  I'm no historian, but I see the cycle of [Brave New World -> Prosperity / Dominance -> Decline -> Corruption -> Oppression -> Revolution -> Brave New World] as a fairly common pattern, with timescales from decades to centuries. It might be cognitive bias, but it seems kind of inevitable, really.
  Scandinavia seems like a good place to live ATM.

221 comments