Thirty-one years ago, the socialist government of Romania was overthrown in a military coup d’etat. 
Industrialization had transformed the lives of millions of Romanians during the country’s socialist period. But the later years were marked by strict rationing and frequent shortages as the government sought to pay off its foreign debt.
Romanian people hoped that their lives would improve after 1989. But life today is much worse than even the most economically-deprived times of the 1980s. A 2010 poll revealed that 63 percent of Romanians say that life was better under socialism.
When the communists came to power, they dispossessed the wealthy nobility, clerics and bourgeoisie. Land was collectivized, as well as all major industries, and the economy was centrally planned. Millions of dwellings were built for workers, and all had the right to a job.
The socialist Romanian government transformed a largely agrarian society, and made great gains in industrial production. What’s more, they accomplished this feat within mere decades while under constant attack by the West.
History did not cease in 1989. Capitalism’s restoration in Romania and the former Socialist Bloc has brought with it all its inherent contradictions. It is bound to reignite mass struggle.
The words of the socialist Internationale, written 150 years ago and translated into nearly every language, continue to inspire the fight of the oppressed for emancipation: “The earth shall rise on new foundations; we have been naught, we shall be all.”
• • •
Missing some Tweet in this thread? You can try to
force a refresh
