How Do People in a Communist Government Get Food & Water?

In a communist government, collective farms are meant to produce enough food to feed the population.

In an ideal communist government, food, like all material resources, are state owned and distributed to the people equally. However, reality has not always reflected this ideal. Every communist government implemented different systems for food distribution. One of the best ways to understand these systems is to look at different communist governments individually.

China

China is a strange hybrid of capitalism and communism. After decades of reform, people typically purchase food the same way as people do in capitalist systems and have water piped to their homes. However, the government sets the price for food, which drives up or down the price. This means that people in poorer rural areas can not afford to purchase some foods at stores. They either purchase food from markets or continue to grow it themselves.

Cuba

In Cuba, most citizens drink tap water for free, but the government tightly controls the distribution of food. A system of rationing ensures that people only buy their food through government sanctioned stores, and cannot exceed the amount of rations the government allows. This was originally implemented to control food scarcity in the 1960s. Cubans who can afford it go to special stores to purchase additional foods in pesos or American dollars.

North Korea

In North Korea, the government also imposed food rationing, which was meant to provide free food to the entire population. However, due to food shortages, the North Korean government repeatedly reduced the amount of these rations, until the system collapsed in 2004. Although some food is still rationed by the government in larger cities, most people have to get their food by paying for it, despite extremely low wages. North Korea has repeatedly had difficulty feeding its population, and has occasionally relied on foreign aid for food and water sanitation projects.

U.S.S.R.

The communist government in the U.S.S.R. maintained strict controls over food distribution. Food was produced on collective farms and meant to be distributed evenly to the population. Early on, people worked for their food rations, but this system was phased out. However, food shortages necessitated rationing during the second World War, and at various other times in the U.S.S.R's history. When food wasn't being rationed, citizens often had to wait in long lines to buy dinner with their wages.

References

• Constitutional Rights Foundation: Communism, Capitalism, and Democracy in China
• University of Florida; Overview of Cuba's Food Rationing System; Jose Alvarez
• Australian Government: Humanitarian Assistance for North Korea
• Asian Times; North Korea's Antique Food Rationing System; Andrei Lankov; January 2005
• The New York Times; In the U.S.S.R., Just Getting Food to the Table Is a Struggle; Philip Taubman; July 1988
• Seventeen Moments in Soviet History; 1947: End of Rationing; Lewis Siegelbaum