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December 27, 2012, 03:47:05 AM |
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I remember when I used to live in USSR, the general legal understanding was that the government owns everything. Your apartment, your money, your posessions; everything was technically still owned by the government, even if it was in your possession. Private ownership was essentially illegal. It was a strange feeling, though. We basically felt that everything we worked for, bought, and owned, was ours, but had to remind ourselves, against our "natural" inclinations, that the government still owns everything. Dreaming about America, and finally moving out of USSR, the idea of personal ownership, that what we have is actually ours and can't be taken away, was like something out of a sci-fi or a fantasy movie. Right up there with the idea that USA is full of wonderful futuristic malls with talking machines everywhere, and that everyone lived in a "modern architecture" style beach house with cameras at the front door that opened the doors automatically.
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