What is the problem with communism? Why did so many flee it?
The phrase "communism doesn't work" is a common one. Czechoslovakia provides some examples.
The Interview
"I'm not sure how to describe it, but, during World War II, there were Czechs an Slovaks who fought on the side of the British Army and also on the side of the Red Army. In 1948, there was a communist takeover of the government, and the first thing the communist government started doing was arresting Czech fliers. There were two Czech squadrons in Britain, all Czechs and Slovaks, and they started arresting those pilots and putting them in jail, accusing them of being British spies. Nothing could be further from the truth. I happened to be with my aunt and her husband, and he was not a flier but a soldier, a sergeant in the Czech Army in Britain, and when he came home he said, well it's the pilots now, it's going to be very soon the rest of us. And they-because he served in World War II on the Allies side, he had an access to Visa to the US. It applied to him and his wife, their daughter, but not me, so I couldn't go with them...
Anyway, Communism made people like one aspect of it- they never had
to worry about bread, so it was
kind of a lazy man system...
My wife's cousin had a job at a company, industrial gases, like Air-co, and then, after 1968 and the occupation, he was called in and (they) said that unless he joins the communist party, he cannot continue in his job. They basically said it to everyone in that to every employee in that particular branch. So people left and suddenly the company came to a screeching halt, so basically they modified their position and they said, well, you have to join the communist party but you don't have to come to any meetings. "
Further Analysis
Soviet tank occupying Prague
When he says that communism "was kind of a lazy man system," Mr. Rafaeli makes a good point. This is the argument of many historians as to why communism so often goes to poverty, and fail completely. People point out that, without any means to move forward of advance their jobs and lives, people see no reason to try much hare than they really need to. As a result, the economy of a communist nation cannot prosper.
Also, the examples of persecution of fliers from the British Army and forcing people to join the communist party are two examples of the persecutions, mistreatment, and unfairness that the Soviet communism was infamous for. Because much of the communism in the world at the time was orchestrated by the Soviets, it was all marred by practices such as these.
It is Russia and Stalin's infamy, perhaps, that led to many persons' flee from communism.