u/Outside_Bug6347 - originally from r/GenZhou
Got banned from other subreddits for this but here I go again. I consider myself a socialist, very pro Cuba, Vietnam and Laos, highly critical of Stalin and Moa but sympathetic to modern day China. Even though I have qualms with Moa (cultural revolution was a bit of a flop but I know that wasn’t his fault entirely and it had positives) and after reading a lot of work in the gulags Stalin did seem to be overly authoritarian though he did raise quality of life for many people. My main problem with this sort of modern communist Reddit community is the defence of North Korea. I do not think North Korea is defensible, South Koreans enjoy a quality of life that is clearly higher and it’s almost impossible for me to wrap my brain around anyone defending that regime. Thoughts?
u/literalshillaccount - originally from r/GenZhouit is highly important to learn history of AES states as much of it is heavily propagandized and white-washed. 15% of North Koreans died during the war and their Infrastructure was LEVELED. Around 85% of all the countries cities and towns were destroyed. A la Vietnam.
Currently North Korea sits on trillions of dollars of untapped resources. Which is why propaganda is so extensive on this small Asian country. Since it's inception out of the war its had trouble from day 1 to accommodate for its material conditions and building its industry. Another big factor of NK's stunted growth was the collapse of the Soviet Union which traded food. Cuba had a similar problem but they were able to research more advanced farming techniques which doesn't require modern machinery. (Organic farming)
For your QOL argument North Korea can really only be compared to developing nations, to which they surpass in alot of metrics including education and Healthcare. As a socialist it's also important to recognize the struggle of states that are under threat of western imperialism and exploitation whether you agree or disagree ideologically. The history of North Korea is probably the first thing to explore if you want to better understand their modern situation.