Is the West really better than the East

"The strength or weakness of a society depends more on the level of its spiritual life than on its level of industrialisation. Neither a market economy nor even general abundance constitutes the crowning achievement of human life. If a nation's spiritual energies have been exhausted, it will not be saved from collapse by the most perfect government structure or by any industrial development. A tree with a rotten core cannot stand."

Aleksandr Solzhenistytn

When in university, I had a friend about 35 years ago who was what we would describe as a Leftist now. On any issue, be it education, politics, finance, health, etc., he would go entirely Left and tell me how Communism was far better than Capitalism in dealing with it. During that time, world ideologies were separated into the West and East of Churchill's Iron Curtain. The West was the USA and its allies, and the East was the USSR and its allies. My friend, who is a Professor now, would go on for hours on how Communism would eventually defeat Capitalism because Capitalism was corrupt and based on greed. I recently got in contact with him after all these years after the fall of the Berlin Wall. He had nothing to say about his position then and was rather sheepish, and I wanted to preserve our friendship. I did not press it further as these arguments could become heated, and our fellow students would chip in. However, looking at the Nordic brand of socialism, it is said that they have one of the best living standards in the world. The Capitalist model with a socialist favour may be the best.

I know Konstantin Kisin from Triggermetry with fellow British comedian Francis Foster, a free UK-based audio and video podcast launched in February 2018. The podcast is an "open, fact-based discussion of important and controversial issues". Konstantin debated whether we have gone too far on Wokekism at Oxford University Union. He believed that the West had gone too far and become complacent. He believes that the ideals that built democracy and our society, like freedom of speech, discussions and debates, innocent until proven guilty, etc., have been stuffed out by identity politics, and the radical left has now taken over. Now, the majority of individuals are fearful of their careers and would rather not talk. 

His book is written to warn the West that we should not become complacent. He started writing this book during the war in Ukraine. And he hoped the war had ended by the time the book was published. Well, it did not end, and the book is in circulation.

Black American families often warned their children about their interaction with the police, other organisations, and people in general; it is called "The Talk". Similarly, those in the USSR warned their children about interactions with the state or those outside their homes. The Soviet state constantly monitored their citizens and searched for signs of discontent or dissatisfaction. Like in the book 1984 by George Orwell, where Big Brother was constantly monitoring its citizens. A wrong word or action may lead to the arrest, torture or execution of the entire family. When Konstantin was growing up in the USSR, the USSR's power waned then and was evident to all except those in the system. He was trying to indicate that, although similar to the West, there is freedom, and you are not constantly monitored. It seems that although Black people felt subjugated and suppressed in the USA. The citizens in the USSR had their rights restricted. There was a true story of a young "patriotic" Soviet boy, Pavlik Morozov, who reported his poor parents for "anti-Soviet activities". This included selling counterfeit documents to fellow dissidents and special favours to the Kulaks. The Kulaks were a group of farmers who resisted the collectivisation policy. Pavlik's father was subsequently found guilty and shot. Although the Soviet authorities commented on and rewarded this type of action with rewards, statues, plaques, and monuments across the USSR, this was taught to all children across the USSR. Konstantin's father looked disgusted whenever Pavlik's name was mentioned in his children's presence and saw him as a "useful idiot". This term was coined by Vladimir Lenin, the founder of the Soviet State, to refer to a college-educated Westerner who embraced the communist ideology without understanding its real-world implications. Bernie Sanders was described as another "useful idiot" in 1988 when he went on a honeymoon in the USSR unknown to him. Bernie was presented with a falsified image of Communism, with welcoming committees and an abundance of food and drink that was not available to the normal citizen; this was while numerous people were starving and had little to eat. The Soviet system had purged many of the educated class or anyone who had seemed professional during Stalin's time. Hence, they lacked capable generals or captains to hold off the Germans during WW2 and lost a lot of battles initially as a result of Stalin's Purges. Also, they did not have enough scientists to develop a Nuclear bomb independently. As a result, they killed off anyone who showed a contrary view to the normal accepted thinking. 

Meanwhile, the masses of ordinary people in the USSR were starving and living in failing buildings and rationing essential commodities. Konstantin's family saw the failings of the communist system or socialism as a first-hand account. The failings in providing free education, healthcare, housing, etc for everyone were achieved by making everyone poor and restricting access. He believes this. Konstantin feels pained by the fact that the millennials are talking about progressive socialist societies and keep referring to Sweden, Denmark or Norway but conveniently forget to mention the USSR. But in the USSR, everyone was equally poor. The rich and powerful barely made four times as those on the bottom rung of the economic ladder, keeping everyone in check. The government restricted access to essential goods such as food and clothing. He saw Karl Max and Friedrich Engels as a pair of grifters and maybe con artists who were loaded but wanted to subject their views to others. He believes that the Universities are Liberal and Left because it does sound good on paper. "From each according to his ability, to each according to his needs." It looks like no one would suffer. But He constantly compares what is happening in the West, from education to health and breaks it down how far worse it was under Communism. He also had a portion on why words matter. In George Orwell's novel 1984, the powers systemically destroyed words and, in their way, destroyed thoughts. Konstantin believes the West has gone down the route of destroying the meaning of words, so they would be meaningless and ineffective and mean nothing, or they would be based on emotions or feelings, which can change. A recent example is the definition of a woman. 

Konstantin believes that the West has been lax, lazy and affected by malaise. The West has forgotten that prosperity, safety, life expectancy, stability, and freedoms that the West enjoys did not just fall out of the sky. But were developed over centuries on philosophical and moral foundations that have withstood the test of time.

Konstantin talked about the USSR under Stalin and the extreme people who would go under communist rule. His Russian grandfather was a slave and was arrested by the state because it believed he was considered "rich". His fellow Russians had "snitched" on him because he owned a horse. During the Second World War (WW2), because it was felt that the Kulaks might side with Nazi Germany, they were subjected to terrible conditions both before and afterwards. He repeatedly stressed that Slavery was not restricted to the Transatlantic Slave Trade and those in the Americas. All cultures have slaves, including the Europeans, Africans, and Asians. The word Slaves is derived from Slavs, which are from middle Europe and may include Russian, Polish, Czech, Slovak, Ukrainian, Bulgarian, etc. and were used as Slaves by the Romans and Greeks. Then there were the Barbary pirates, who were of Arab descent living in North Africa, that is, Algeria, Tunisia, Morocco, etc. and were raiding Europeans from ships, coastal villages and towns and selling them into Slavery. The Barbary slave trade enslaved 1 million to 1.25 million Europeans in North Africa from the beginning of the 16th century to the middle of the 18th century, lasting about 250 years. There was an agreement with the newly formed United States of America and the Barbary pirates. The trade continued, only ending with the French conquest of Algeria (1830–1847). In this document, the USA clearly states it is not a Christian nation. Also, Konstantin mentioned that it was the British, although they played an essential role in it. It was due to the British Navy, who patrolled the seas and was stopped by another British, William Wilberforce, in Parliament.

Before the death of Stalin, he had developed a kind of cult or following. Stalin controlled everything, and the people in the Soviet Union believed that they had reached a level of wealth that others had not. After the death, Nikita Khrushchev took over the position of the General Secretary of the Soviet Union. On 25 February 1956, at the 20th Party Congress, he delivered the "Secret Speech", which denounced Stalin's purges and his excessive, paranoid delusions and abuses of power. During the speech, there was total silence and the occasional grasps. That everything in the Soviet Union was due to almost a lie; a few people could not take it and were shell-shocked. Khrushchev denounced Stalin for failing to make adequate preparations before the German invasion of the Soviet Union (June 1941), for weakening the Soviet Army by purging its leading officers, and for mismanagement of the war after the invasion. A small proportion of those who attended went home and shot themselves. As they saw themselves as willing "useful idiots".

"By the standards of all human beings who have ever lived, we are by far and away the luckiest people in history. Whether you're a billionaire or a student struggling to make ends meet, you enjoy a life almost guaranteed to be safer, longer, healthier and freer than 99.99% of all human beings, ever." The West is far better than the alternative, and democracies, in all cases, seem to do better than the others. Yet, we have convinced ourselves that we are in a terrible state and the future is bleak and full of suffering. Konstantin says that BREXIT, Trump winning, the rise of the ultra Right across Europe, and COVID vaccine hesitancy. The rise of wokeism and the fact that it seems democracies are not dealing with the present situation well. 

Some anti-West sentiments are going around, and it may be because decent and antagonistic behaviour is encouraged in the West. Opposition to the government is allowed, and in most cases, they flourish. No one dies, or no one is killed as a result of their opposition. The corruption in the West is laughable, and the British Prime Minister was sacked because people felt that they were being disingenuous and there was a conflict of interest. This might be because some systems and processes monitor the allocation of money, so corruption is down to a minimum. A lot of Africans believe that the West is decadent and culturally impudent. However, millions of people are rushing to come across their borders; thousands are dying across the desert, and a further thousands are drowning in the Mediterranean Sea. It seems we are yet to hold our leaders to account, and we allow strong-arm bullies to jump to the front of the queue. We have forgotten that any leader who uses force to enforce rules can easily be turned against us. That the change must come from us.