Why have so many socialist countries gone capitalist?

The pioneering socialist countries were subject to all sorts of pressure and disruption to stop them building socialism. From the early days of the Russian Revolution, the imperialist countries blockaded the country and 14 major powers invaded it to “strangle the Soviet baby in its cradle”. They failed. The fascists launched the biggest and most ruthless invasion of the USSR in 1941. Over 20 million Soviet citizens died liberating the countries of Eastern Europe.

The Soviet Union and the new people’s democracies rebuilt their devastated countries and made fantastic progress. They were then obliged to join a crippling arms race to defend themselves against the US imperialists and their allies. They never had a minute’s peace to develop their countries or democratic structures.

The Soviet Union and the socialist countries were under constant ideological attack and this was the deadliest blow of all. The leaderships of these countries introduced economic and other changes that undermined confidence in socialist construction. They lowered their guard and weakened their commitment to the state power of the working class. Ultimately, revisionist elements gained dominance and opened the door to capitalist restoration. Most citizens in former socialist countries became much worse off and regretted the dismantling of socialism.

It is a difficult task to rebuild socialism in the former socialist countries and will require a new revolutionary upsurge benefitting from the mistakes of the past.