Goulash Communism

Goulash Communism (Hungarian: gulyáskommunizmus), also known as refrigerator communism (Hungarian: fridzsiderkommunizmus), Kádárism or the Hungarian Thaw, is the variety of state socialism in Hungary following the Hungarian Revolution of 1956. János Kádár and the Hungarian People's Republic imposed policies with the goal to create high-quality living standards for the people of Hungary coupled with economic reforms. These reforms fostered a sense of well-being and relative cultural freedom in Hungary with the reputation of being "the happiest barracks" of the Eastern Bloc during the 1960s to the 1970s. With elements of regulated market economics as well as an improved human rights record, it represented a quiet reform and deviation from the Stalinist principles applied to Hungary in the previous decade.

The name is a metaphor derived from goulash, a traditional Hungarian dish. Goulash is made with an assortment of dissimilar ingredients; here, it represents how Hungarian communism became a mixed ideology, no longer strictly adhering to the Marxist–Leninist interpretations of the prior decade. Nikita Khrushchev was the first to use the term when he wanted to highlight Hungary's economic developments. This period of "pseudo-consumerism" saw an increase of foreign affairs and consumption of consumer goods as well. During the Kádár era, Hungary became the consumer paradise of the whole Eastern Bloc, with the highest standard of living.

The term ‘the happiest barracks’ was coined in the 1970s to describe Hungary's Kádár regime. The word "happiest" referred to Hungary having the highest standard of living of all the Soviet bloc countries. It was the easiest place to travel abroad (people still needed an exit visa in order to do so) and the quickest to access Western products and culture. It was still a "barrack", however, because it was a dictatorship with a single-party system, which severely restricted people's democratic rights and personal freedoms.