alt Hacker NewsI think it's useful to distinguish between political system and economic system. The traditional communist system was to have both a one-party state and state ownership of the means of production.
Vietnam and China still have one-party states but have transitioned to market economies. The fact that there are Chinese billionaires implies that they are no longer communist.
Cuba is still a traditional communist country--mostly because of sanctions. But they would love to become a market economy.
North Korea is the other one with both a one-party state and autarkic control over the economy.
Would I want to live in any of these countries? Absolutely not. I would rather be a median American than a median Chinese or Vietnamese.
I think it's plausible China and US invert in that calculus over the next 30 years. The median US person (anecdotally) feels to me like they are getting worse and worse stakes. $45k a year is not a lot these days. Chinese are investing heavily in infrastructure in a way that's appearing to build a healthy amount of economic potential. Whereas the US is... struggling. Global happiness index scores for China and Vietnam have risen dramatically, while the US is sliding down.
But I could be wrong. Maybe there will be a reversion.