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Apre le deluge
The demise of the Soviet Union offered a unique
opportunity for comparisons of socialist and capitalist societies. Up to that
time, comparative studies of capitalist and socialist societies have been
constrained by the necessity to employ cross-sectional models of social research
with its well-known limitations. In such comparisons, native cultures,
intellectual climate, outcomes of major wars, general literacy, liberal or
authoritarian traditions, poverty, natural resources, and other factors have
confounded such comparisons. The period of transition of the Soviet block of
countries from socialist to capitalist economies offered to us an opportunity
for a phenomenological analysis based on observation of life in the
post-communist countries, followed by longitudinal, quantitative comparisons.
Increase in incarceration rates in the Russian
Republic |
Crime
Today's post-communist governments incarcerate far
more people than their socialist predecessors (cf., Mauer, 1991, 1992, 1994,
1995). These trends reflect the decline of the traditional family. Together with
rapidly raising unemployment rates and profound diversification of wealth, the
trends mentioned here support a recently proposed regression model of criminal
behavior. In this model, criminality is attributed to the confluence of gross
inequalities in the distribution of wealth and to the disintegration of the
traditional family (Krus & Hoehl, 1994). Our studies of changes within the
countries of the former Soviet Union during the first decade after it
disintegrated indicate that the living standards of an average Russian family
decreased by about 75 percent, compared to their living standard during closing
years of the socialist Soviet Union (this is also a conclusion reached by
Harvard University's Graham Allison). That is about twice the amount an average
American family experienced during the Great Depression of the 1930s. Over the
years, Western reports on the Soviet Union stressed the severity of its penal
system and the vastness of the Gulag Archipelago. We could not compare the
severity of the prison conditions between communist and post-communist Russia,
however, by numbers of imprisoned people, the communist regime falls far behind
capitalist Russia.
Growth of syphilis in the Russian Republic |
Sexually transmitted diseases
During socialist administration, the incidence of the
venereal diseases was far lower than their incidence in the West. This was due
to mandatory reporting and tracing of all sexually transmitted diseases, Since
the fall of communism the venereal disease has increased. The incidence of
syphilis has increased in Bohemia over 1,000 times during the period separating
the socialist and capitalist governments. Czech Ministry of Health report to the
Parliament, asking for help to stop its spread, was tabled with the comment that
the right to sell one's own body is one of the basic human rights and an
integral part of the new economic freedom. In Russia, the Health Ministry’s
venereal-diseases department reported that the incidence of sexually transmitted
diseases have reached an epidemic proportions.
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Decrease in birth rates in the Czech Republic |
Plummeting Birth Rates
The statistical report released by a government agency
ascribed the rapidly decreasing population trend to the changed orientation of
women to "other than traditional values." It praised the government for the
rapid introduction of a "new model of reproductive behavior." It blamed the
previous socialist government for "overly pro-family policies" that resulted in
"inordinate costs of the educational system." It also pointed to a future in
which the new democratic state would be able to reduce the number of schools and
reinvest savings that would result from fewer schools and fewer teachers.
What seems to escape most casual readers is the magnitude of this loss of
potential human life. Population declines are larger now than they were during
the years of famine at the end of the First World War, or during the Great
Depression. Similar population downturns are typical of other East European
countries. The Russian birth rate has decreased by 35%. The birth rate in East
Germany decreased 56% since the fall of the Berlin Wall. It is currently among
the lowest in the world.
What are the factors underlying this pattern? Aside from economic factors, the
change from pro-family values of the socialist community to individualist and
materialistic values characteristic of capitalist societies, accelerated the
disintegration of the traditional family. Not a negligible factor is the
siphoning of females in their reproductive years into the sex industry.
Prostitution, virtually nonexistent during the years of socialism, grows at an
unprecedented rate. The pages of the help wanted sections of newspapers are
filled with job offers for young females to work in the sex-related occupations.
Thousands of young women have disappeared into the brothels of Germany, Italy,
and Turkey; favored destinations for such occupation.
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Longevity
According
to the Council of Europe, around the turn of the century, the average
life span in Russia was 58.4 for men and 71.9 for women as compared with 64.9
for men and 74.6 for women during the last years of the socialist government of
the Soviet Union.
Comparison of 1999 Suicide Rates in Russia with
suicide rates of other industrialized countries |
Suicide
Around the turn of the century Russia also lead
the industrialized countries in terms of suicides.
Surplus goods or surplus social ills?
Analysis of events in the post-Communist
countries after the fall of the Berlin Wall illustrates the ideological
underpinnings of modern versions of Adam Smith’s economic model as represented
by the social and economic theories of Milton Friedman (cf., Krus & Kennedy,
1982). The 'market economy' and the 'invisible hand' of Adam Smith are the
frequently heard phrases in economic discussions taking place east of the former
Berlin Wall. However, the 'invisible hand' of market economy rapidly generated
not only abundant goods, but also surplus human potential channeled to prisons,
the army, police, prostitution, and rapidly growing legal and administrative
systems.
By closing Adam Smith’s invisible hand, the
Soviet Union and its allies were not able to generate surplus goods, but they
did not generate surplus social ills either.
References
Krus, D. J., & Hoehl, L .S. (1994) Issues associated with international incarceration rates. Psychological Reports,
75, 1491-1495
(Request reprint).
Krus, D. J., Nelsen, E. A. & Webb, J. M.
(1997) Changes in crime rates and family-related
values in selected East-European countries. Psychological Reports, 81, 747-751.
Mauer,
M. (1991) Americans behind bars: a comparison of international rates of
incarceration. Washington, DC: The Sentencing Project, Inc.
Mauer, M. (1992) Americans behind bars: one year later. Washington, DC:
The Sentencing Project, Inc.
Mauer, M. (1994) Americans behind bars: the international use of
incarceration. Washington, DC: The Sentencing Project, Inc.
Mauer, M. (1995) Americans behind bars: U.S. and international use of
incarceration. Washington, DC: The Sentencing Project, Inc.
Marx, K. (1859) From population, crime and
pauperism. New York Daily Tribune, September 16.
