While Hungarian national memory of communism is far from being consolidated, the tendency among young people to view their ancestors’ actions under a totalitarian regime with empathy while at the same time to strongly reject communism as a political ideology is a promising development.

During this period, both sides tried to quote the writings of the Budapest-born founder of political Zionism, Theodore Herzl, and both sides seemed to find their own version of Herzl that fit their arguments.

Poorly educated people with disgusting habits, yet still the wealthiest in the societies that suffered under and because of their rule – how can the most unworthy be elevated to such positions of power under state socialism or communism?

In this article we further investigate the persistence of inequalities under state socialism to demonstrate that it is not only impossible to eradicate inequality, but that inequality is a phenomenon far too complex for any single ideology to single-handedly address. 

In his self-criticism after the Revolution, one of the leading politicians of state-socialist Hungary admitted that they were interested in only having the ‘right number of women’ in positions of responsibility, instead of genuinely working on women’s equality in representation.

What is behind the nostalgia for state socialism in East-Central Europe?