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Joseph Stalin has been selected as Time Magazine’s Man of the Year and we could not fathom a more worthy recipient! Stalin has taken the Soviet Union from a dismal and weak state to one of the world’s super powers. Stalin united the people as one, creating a society where everyone works together and in turn the resources are distributed to everyone according to their need. By working together we ensure that we are strong and powerful.
We can live peacefully in the stability that we have found, we no longer suffer through civil war after civil war. ! The Soviet Union has been transformed into a modern state. The five year plans have industrialized the economy and changed the Soviet Union in many ways. Unemployment has been drastically reduced; projects such as building new cities transportation and dams have provided many Jobs. With more Jobs people are earning and spending money which drives the economy.
Production and farming has been revolutionized with new tools, factories and machines to make it faster, easier and cheaper. Producing products that were formerly imported from other countries makes them less expensive and also relieves reliance on other countries.! ! The lives of woman have been changed drastically under Stalin’s rule. Woman’s education has been promoted as well as the awareness that woman and girls need to have fair and equal treatment. The complete economic, political and sexual equality of women was put on the historic agenda. Joseph Stalin Time Man Of The Yearned By Sandra-Block Making Joseph Stalin Time Magazine’s Man of the Year is a decision that with 20/20 hind sight we can see was clearly a poor one. Although Stalin had initial success when he rejected liberalism, over the long term it led to unhappy citizens and a failed government. Originally people were on board with Stalin’s ideas because they were told they would have employment, food and housing. Stalin had a vision for Russia and wool do anything he had to to reach it.
Although Stalin did industrialized the Soviet Union the negative effects under Stalin’s rule greatly out number the positives ones. Tens of millions of people died in mass murders, purges and slave and concentration camps. Others died due to starvation and poor working conditions. Stalin used terror and punishment as incentive for citizens to stay in line, if you stepped out of line you were punished or killed. Farms were state owned, farmers worked on them but did not own them, as well as they did not sell their products instead the government distributed them as they saw fit.
Personal incentive was taken away and the quota they had to meet was raised so high that it was almost impossible to meet. Therefore motivation to work dropped causing production levels to drop as well.! People can be ruled with fear for some time but eventually the fear of death will not be enough. The rejection of liberalism takes away individual’s rights and freedoms that are fundamental for people to be happy. Modern Liberalism may take anger to develop but in the end it gives people better standard of living and happiness.
Rejecting liberalism and adopting extreme ideologies in order to better yourself may seem like the right thing to do in times of desperation and crisis but the time and care that liberalism needs in order to take hold and flourish is worth it because in the end it gives people rights, freedoms and a democracy were they will not be suppressed by the people who lead them. We can see that adopting extreme ideologies such as communism is not successful because there are very few countries (none) who are communist for an extended period of time.!