Today it is already difficult to remember, but to those who did not find the USSR, they are fully aware of the laws by which the society of "developed socialism" lived. In material terms, this was a version of what was called the "welfare state" in the West - the "welfare state". The West borrowed this model from socialism in many ways, having bought the loyalty of its population. But when the USSR was eliminated, Western elites no longer needed to compete with an alternative system for the minds and hearts of people. Since then, the dismantling of the welfare state has begun, because caring for the population does not enrich the largest owners.
In the 1960s and early 1980s, the USSR pursued a policy of income equalization in order to prevent social polarization. But the well-being of people did not depend 100% on their personal security: the basic needs were gratuitously met by the state, this practically guaranteed a material life in a comfortable way - that is, life without troubles.
In the 1960s, the poverty of the postwar years passed. The tasks of raising the standard of living, increasing pensions, expanding housing construction, introducing a five-day working week, and improving the quality of goods were systematically solved.
Salaries in the USSR were set by the state. The difference in earnings of specialists of lower and higher categories did not differ significantly. Prestige in society brought more intangible achievements. The policy of equalizing incomes led to the fact that the majority of the population became the Soviet "middle class", while in the West the middle class did not make up the majority.
Growth in wealth and quality of life
The Soviet man was mostly sure of tomorrow: for example, free higher education guaranteed subsequent employment. The employer and guarantor of employment was the state. After conscientiously fulfilling what was required, a person received a pension that allowed him to live without poverty. This, perhaps not the most exciting scenario, was seen as an immutable law.
In the USSR, inflation and unemployment were practically absent. The family, standing in line for improving housing conditions, although not immediately, but after 5-10 years received free separate housing. Education and medicine were free and at a high level. Mutual assistance cash desks at enterprises issued interest-free loans for large purchases. A vacation ticket was often affordable or free for everyone. The share of rents in the average household income was at the level of error. All this was gratefully received by the mass of the population. Such prosperity was expressed in reaching a maximum of average life expectancy - almost 70.5 years in 1965.
The top leaders of the USSR were not rich. Most of the privileges they received in non-monetary form, provided with official vehicles and cottages only for the duration of their duties, did not have foreign currency accounts and foreign real estate. Their children did not inherit the social status of their parents.
Since the 1970s, to all comers, the state has allocated in the suburban area free land for personal ownership - the famous "6 acres". Personal property was not included in the concept of "private property", which was prohibited by law.
Consumer boom
In the 1970s and early 1980s, significant sections of Soviet society gained relative prosperity, and many were embraced by the “consumer boom” - a consequence of a long stay in poverty in the past. People were striving for not just quality, but also fashionable dressing. American jeans, Italian sheepskin coats, Finnish suits, French cosmetics, Yugoslav boots were in high demand. Citizens overpaid speculators for the "company", which was absent in stores. But in special stores for party nomenclature, imported goods were present.
Due to the lag in the production rates of Group B industries (production of consumer goods), domestic goods turned out to be significantly less than the money in the hands of the population - a shortage arose. I had to find workarounds for the production of scarce goods - through blat, speculators, relatives and acquaintances.
Public life
Quite calm, predictable, and compared with previous decades - a prosperous life allowed to expand forms of leisure. Wild tourism is gaining popularity - hiking, climbing, river rafting. Most accurately, this romantic spirit was expressed by Vladimir Vysotsky.
In the 1970s and early 1980s, amateur song clubs (KSP), propaganda brigades, theater studios, scientific circles, vocal and instrumental ensembles (VIA), KBH teams and others spread. They existed under the Komsomol patronage and created conditions for the creative leisure of youth and operated at schools, universities or in the workplace.
Leisure and communication took place in the kitchens, at the "parties" (discos, company stilag, etc.), in dormitories, in songs by the fire in the construction team or "on the potatoes." At that time, people met more often and more willingly than now.
