Graphing is still necessary for the blind, but it’s more common to use a plastic sheet on a hard rubber clipboard with a stylus that causes the plastic to rise up when it’s pressed with a bit of force. (Though while googling for it I found plenty of examples like yours so maybe less common than I thought)
I’m not a socialist by any means (well, I have been called one by republicans…) but I’ve always hated this argument. The USSR and China are the only two I’m aware of that weren’t massively screwed over in their infancy by the US, and/or (usually and) manipulated by the USSR.