The economic system of the USSR also allowed for the implementation of an appropriate social policy. The essence of this policy is revealed in Article 20 of the Constitution of the USSR:
"In accordance with the communist ideal "The free development of everyone is a condition for the development of all", the state aims to expand real opportunities for citizens to use their creative forces, abilities and talents, for the comprehensive development of the individual".
In the USSR, the state systems of health care, social security, trade and public catering, household services and communal services were functioning and developing (Article 24). The state should also promote the development of mass physical culture and sports.
In 1990, the USSR was only slightly behind the United States in the Human Development Index (HDI). The Soviet Union was then ranked 26th in the HDI and 19th in the USA. During the years of liberal and market "recovery" of the former Soviet Union countries, this gap has increased many times.
According to the UN report in 2015, Russia ranked 50th among 188 countries on the HDI, although GDP per capita in Russia is much higher. This allows experts to conclude that Russia's GDP is not fairly distributed. Other CIS countries were much further in terms of this indicator: Kazakhstan - 56th place, Georgia - 76th, Azerbaijan - 78th, Ukraine - 81st, Armenia - 89th, etc.
In the USSR, the population grew by an average of 2.6 million people per year between 1950 and 1991, increasing by 111.6 million. - From 178.5 million to 290.1 million people During the years of market reforms (1990-2008), the population of Belarus, Russia and Ukraine decreased by 11.588 million people. Social policy in the USSR was implemented at the level of both the State and enterprises. The enterprise itself was not only an economic cell, but also a social cell. Critics of the USSR in many cases do not pay attention to this fact.
Each Soviet enterprise had a certain social sphere as a tool to implement the relevant policy. At the same time, we will highlight the following areas of such a social policy:
- Public catering;
- Housing and communal services of the enterprise;
- Health protection;
- Health camps for children;
- Preschool institutions for children.
Almost all enterprises provided subsidies to canteens working on their territory. In addition, most of the enterprises had their own subsidiary farms. The enterprise's relations with the subsidiary economy were diverse - from patronage of a collective or state farm to transformation of the state farm into a structural subdivision of the enterprise. Such relations with the market mechanism have nothing in common. It should also be noted that in the factory canteens, on the one hand, the quality of food was higher than in the state canteens. On the other hand, the prices were lower. In 1990, 9.1% of workers in the industry, as well as 8.5% of workers in state farms and collective farms received food free of charge or with a partial surcharge. Housing and communal services of the enterprise.
In the USSR, housing was a constitutional right guaranteed by the state. The State, through both local councils and enterprises, provided housing free of charge for everlasting use. In the family budget, the costs of housing were about 1%, and with all public utilities - no more than 3%.
At the beginning of 1991, the entire housing stock of the USSR amounted to 4.6 billion square meters, of which the state owned 2.5 billion square meters, while the departmental area was 1.44 billion square meters. Enterprises played an important role in the provision of housing services, and not only in this respect. They built and maintained housing, provided utilities (water supply, heating, sewage, etc.).
In the USSR, the health care system was free of charge and was perceived by the public as a natural right. Participation of enterprises in health care was expressed in the following forms:
- Maintenance of polyclinics or medical stations at the enterprise and at its expense (or jointly with the health authorities);
- Subsidies from the funds of the enterprise to medical institutions in the areas of residence of employees of the enterprise;
- Maintenance of health-improving institutions (rest houses, sanatoriums, preventive clinics);
- Organization of preventive medical examinations of employees at the enterprise.
An important part of the social services provided by the company was the maintenance of children's health resorts (or payment for vouchers for employees' children). The system of children's health-improvement facilities in the USSR (for children aged 7-15) was based on the network of so-called pioneer camps. It should be noted here that even in the countries of socialized capitalism there are no such camps. The All-Union Pioneer Organization was established in 1922. One of its main tasks was health-improving work among children, organization of their leisure time, health promotion, development of creative abilities. In the USSR 28 newspapers and 40 magazines for children were published, Palaces and Pioneer Houses were created and regularly functioned.