Quote:
Originally Posted by Letum
If NK is socialist, then it's socialist with out the public spending.
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They may not have public spending, but they do have lots of government spending. Ferraris, Mercs, Hollywood movies, elaborate parties, and I'm sure a fair dose of hookers don't come cheap.
The reality is that all of these Communist countries were always as socialist as they were democratic. In other words, not at all.
Under ideal socialism, goods are produced and distributed for the good of the people. In the Communist bloc, goods were produced for the good of the leaders. For example, in Mao's China food was grown to sell to the Soviets/Eastern Europeans in return for weapons and military technology to feed Mao's ego. In North Korea the people work so Kim Jong Il can enjoy fine dining and nuclear tests (if he's still alive). The list goes on. In these economies, consumer goods are only distributed to the people on a subsistence level (or below) to keep them working and prevent revolts.