Looking Back Instead Of Ahead...

Does it ever seem to you that some people look back at situations they used to be in with rose colored glasses? In Azerbaijan many people are poor and many people are unemployed. But when they talk about their standard of living, they say that they would gladly go back to living in Soviet times. In my small town alone there was a cotton factory, a milk factory, and a fruit preserve factory, none of which are currently operational - they all closed down about the time the Soviet Union dissolved. That is the main comparison that I hear - people had jobs then, and now there is nothing. Utility costs have also skyrocketed. The family that I was talking about this with earlier this week is currently employed, but would be considered underemployed. For example, the father drives a motorcycle/cart like vehicle that makes deliveries from the bazar, from house to house, etc. I don't know if this is a common view throughout Azerbaijan, or one that only exists in my town due to the tremendous loss of jobs over the past 15 - 20 years. But it is something I've heard from more than one family. When you compare Azerbaijan today to what people experienced in the Soviet Union - the corruption, the laws, etc. - the common citizen doesn't feel better off. They still have corruption. The press is government owned and run. Were there things back then that weren't that great? Probably - I think most people in most countries would say that there are things about their government they would like changed. But what tilts the scales in the favor of one time over another? How can it be improved? Is it enough to just have a job? Or does it have to bring in a certain amount of income? Or personal satisfaction? And how do you empower people to make these changes themselves?