The people supported the economic system that had free healthcare and education, doubled life expectancies, dramatic improvements in science, made it to space, rapidly industrialized, and dramatically reduced inequality.

Free healthcare still exists in all developed countries other than the US, life expectancies increased all over the world same with improvements in science, the space race was very close between the USSR and the US and the moon landing is very often brought up by US nationalists as well. I would say the industrialization was actually a bit too fast, people were, sometimes forcefully, relocated from rural areas to concrete boxes in cities. As for inequality, yes, there were no billionaires, and, while the quality of life for the poorest was maybe higher than it is today, I'd say the quality of life for average people was lower during communist time.

Even prisoners were paid in the USSR for forced labor, this is ahistorical.

While this may have been true at the beginning, later on, there were no wages. Still, conditions were very poor.

[–] Cowbee@lemmy.ml 3 points 1 month ago (1 children)

Those Capitalist concessions are weakening in Social Democracies, and were only ever brought about by fear of revolt. The USSR paved the way for it.

[–] thegreenguy@sopuli.xyz 1 points 1 month ago (1 children)

Of course, there were good things which came out of the communist regime, but I wouldn't say that "it worked".

[–] Cowbee@lemmy.ml 3 points 1 month ago

Why not? It absolutely did.