This comment was chosen by Mod HS from the post  “Moveable Feast Cafe 2016/08/12 … Open Thread”. The moderator believes this comment is well written and has a good understanding of the underlaying forces at work in current confrontation with Russia, China and Iran. The moderator personally has come to the belief that the pirates of the new world (17th century) did not disappear but moved to Washington D.C. and this lays it out quite well. The comment also discusses the former USSR and the views of Russians and other people in those countries who used to be within the socialist system. It seems many hark back for those days……..
Comment by Uncle Bob 1
The way I see societies and people, is that the “vast” majority “do not” care who rules them as long as their “needs” and at least some of their “wants” are met. Its only when denied their “wants” that they become restless. And if then denied their “needs” they become rebellious.The West up until now has balanced that out “fairly” well. They have only denied people “some” of their wants,and “usually” allowed the majority at least their needs. Today,the “wants” of the 1% and the ruling elite that serve them,is deeply cutting into both the wants and the needs of the peoples of the countries in the West.The elites are beginning to see that looting the other parts of the World just isn’t enough for them to fulfill all their “wants”.And that they must take from their own nations populace to keep their lifestyle going up ever higher. They also know that to lessen the need for that,the only areas left to loot for their benefit are Russia,China,and Iran. The wealth generated by that looting would keep them in comfort for a long while. And lesson the need to loot their own nations more. Thus lessening the fear of their own populace turning on them. Hence the almost open warfare on those nations that we see today.And the attempts at color revolutions,and terrorist attacks to destroy them.Some in the future “victim” countries, are aware of what is happening. But there are also some (5th column) elements that would welcome the chance to join the Western elites themselves. And are quite willing to see their countries dismantled and looted if they can benefit personally from it (Ukraine being a perfect example of that).Its a continuing struggle to make sure that the local traitors fail in their efforts in those countries. And who will win out is still a very wide open question.Having said that.I will now demonstrate how even years after the collapse of 1989 people in Eastern Europe see how mistaken they were to “throw the baby out with the bathwater”. Even after all the years of Western propaganda many people today see the truth:” The people who have lived both under Socialism and Capitalism give their answer to the various bourgeois and petty bourgeois unhistorical slanders. Various polls in former Socialist countries prove that the majority of people, in Russia and Eastern Europe, think that life was better before the counter-revolutions and the restoration of Capitalism. Under Socialism their major problems had been solved: Free education, free healthcare for all, social security, jobs, free vacation and holidays for everyone, etc. The restoration of Capitalism brought an unprecedented barbarity in almost every sector of public life: Social inequalities, unemployment, privatization of major public sectors from healthcare to education, etc.
On March 2016, a survey conducted by the All-Russia Public Opinion Center (VTsIOM) showed that:
More than half of Russians (64%) would vote to maintain the Soviet Union if a referendum were held today. This figure increases from 47% among those 18-24 to 76% among respondents age 60 and more. Only 20% of Russian citizens would vote negatively for preserving the Soviet Union, according to the poll results.
During the same period (March 2016), a similar survey by the Levada Center Survey in Russia showed that:
More than half (51%) of the Russians said that the collapse of the Soviet Union could have been avoided.– More than half (56%) of the Russians regret the collapse of the USSR (in fact, the victory of counter-revolution).– The majority of the participants in the survey (58%) said that they would welcome the revival of the Soviet Union and the socialist system.

Polls conducted in the previous years have produced similar results. A survey by the Russia’s Public Opinion Foundation (FOM) back in 2013, showed that 60% of Russians think that the life in the Soviet Union had more positive than negative aspects. Furthermore, in the same poll, 43% of the respondents would welcome the re-adoption of communist ideology, while 38% were not happy about such a perspective.
While reading the above, we must take into account the powerful anti-communist propaganda of the last two decades, the slanders and lies against the socialist system by the bourgeois media and political parties. ”

“On June 2009, a survey conducted in Germany showed that 57% of eastern Germans defend the German Democratic Republic (GDR). Of those polled, 49% said “The GDR had more good sides than bad sides. There were some problems, but life was good there.” The poll was reported on Spiegel Online (which, however, tried to vilify GDR with anti-communist lies) and consists a proof that, according to historian Stefan Wolle, “a new form of Ostalgie has taken shape”.

“In a July 2010 IRES (Romanian Institute for Evaluation and Strategy) poll, according to which 41% of the respondents would have voted for Ceausescu, had he run for the position of president. And 63% of the survey participants said their life was better during communism, while only 23% attested that their life was worse then. Some 68% declared that communism was a good idea, just one that had been poorly applied.
In a 2014 survey by the INSCOP Research poll revealed that 44.4 percent of the respondents believed that living conditions were better under communism.”

“According to a report by the Pew Research Center, on April 2010, 72% of Hungarians say that most people in their country are actually worse off today economically than they were under communism. Only 8% say most people in Hungary are better off, and 16% say things are about the same.”
http://communismgr.blogspot.ca/2016/08/life-was-better-under-communism-says.html

The pre-1989 Eastern European governments were able to fulfill the “needs” of their population. But neglected to consider the “wants factor” I spoke of. Because of that reason in particular they failed and were dissolved.Their enemies were able to promise to give the populace “wants as well as keeping their needs available”. After years,we’ve seen they were able to satisfy the “wants” of the elites in those countries. But they have destroyed the “needs” for the vast majority of people. But still the new power of propaganda pervasive in Eastern Europe and the ability for the people to flood Western Europe for a better life has kept the lid on popular discontent.