Memes

"Throughout Eastern Europe and the former USSR, many people grudgingly admitted that conditions were better under communism (New York Times, 3/30/95). Pro-capitalist Angela Stent, of George- town University, allows that "most people are worse off than they were under Communism . . . . The quality of life has deteriorated with the spread of crime and the disappearance of the social safety net" (New York Times, 12/20/93). An East German steelworker is quoted as saying "I do not know if there is a future for me, and I'm not too hopeful. The fact is, I lived better under Communism" (New York Times, 3/3/91). An elderly Polish woman, reduced to one Red Cross meal a day: "I´m not Red but I have to say life for poor people was better before .... Now things are good for businessmen but not for us poor" (New York Times, 3/17/91). One East German woman commented that the West German womens movement was only beginning to fight for "what we already had here... We took it for granted because of the socialist system. Now we realize what we [lost]" (Los Angeles Times, 8/6/91)." Michael Parenti - "Blackshirts and Reds: Rational Fascism and the Overthrow of Communism".