History

The criticism of the educational system usually centers around the three R’s but something is also lacking in social studies. It is said that history repeats itself so students can learn from history. A 2025 survey found that 62% of Americans aged 18-29 have a favorable view of “socialism”. Here is brief history since WW 2. Following World War II, Korea was liberated from Japanese rule but subsequently divided along the 38th parallel, with the Soviet Union occupying the north and the United States occupying the south. This division led to the establishment of two separate states in 1948. The north with an area of 122,000 sq miles and the south with 100,000. The south had 21 million population and the north 9 million. The country was somewhat like the US in that the north was the industrial area and the south more agrarian. Russia and China poured development money into the north while the south languished with a GDP per capita of $64. More than half the people suffered from absolute poverty. The north pursued a communist government while the south was democratic. By 2024 the GDP per capita rose to $36,000 in what has been called the Korean Miracle. Meanwhile the communist north economy only grew to $1,700 per capita. The Korean people were the same in both north and south in culture, history and religion. The difference is free market capitalism. China had been a poor country for thousands of years with most people just surviving and at the end of WW 2 became a communist country. The great Mao revolution took place in the 1960’s and 70’s when 50 million people starved to death. The government then opened the door to the free market. The GDP in 1990 was $360 billion and grew to $1.2 trillion in 2000. Then China was allowed into the World Trade Organization (WTO) and was opened to the worlds markets and the GDP surged to $18 trillion in 2024. The free-market economy can survive even under a communist political system. When people are allowed the fruits of their labor they work harder and smarter. The central planning communist governments take away the freedom of the individual and leads to a preferential treatment of a few in leadership positions. In 1960 the population of the USSR was 200 million but only 15 million belonged to the communist party and they had the best apartments, cars and other benefits. Like George Orwell said his book entitled “1984”, under communism everyone is equal but some are more equal. After WW 2 Germany was divided into East Germany under communism and West Germany as a democracy. Both sides were devastated by the war and by 1955 had started the slow process of recovery with the West having a GDP per capita of $3,000 and the East at $2,800. By 1990 when the wall fell the West was at $23,000 GDP and the East at $9,600. At that time Germany was reunited under the democratic West and today the GDP in $53,000.