: O.K. Everyone including the socialists should get the hell of Cubas back!!: I strongly suspect that no one has seriously considered the achievemnets of the Cuban Free State and the difficulties that it has faced in their judgements.
: DONT LUMP CUBA IN WITH THE PRETENDERS SUCH AS CHINA OR, PREVIOUSLY, THE USSR.
: Cuba has a health service to rival any in the world, excellent roads and public services, guaranteed employment and pensions, a financial level underwhich citizens are not allowed to fall.
: 80% of citizens belong to a union (one for the IWW people).
: The government owned and maintained hoispitals and research clinics are pioneering revolutionary (pardon the pun) vacines and medical technics. A recent one being the inception of new Hepitituse B drugs.
: The abolishion of money or the decentralisation of state power has not taken place because the authorities know that in the present world cliamate it would be foolish causing poverty and defection to 'Democracy'.
: They dont want to had power over to American Multinationals now do they? This incidentally is the reason why the U.S is straving their citizens notice how the U.S has repealed sanctions against China because they where allowed in to make a dime. China has a far worse record on human rights.Cuba does not occupy and neighbouring states like Tibet.
: Cuba was also never part of the imperialist USSR either, traded with them by necessity I'll admit but remained critical of them and their terror tactics.
: Until a world view emerges the Cuban example is the best we can expect.
: Instead of deriding Cuba I would welcome comments on how the emergent Socialism could be improved.
: Check out the Cuban Solidarity Pages and read Micheal Moores 'Those Key sone Cubans' in 'Downsize this' then I'll consider informed arguments.
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toally agree - Cuba has struggled agianst all odds to create the reality that now exists there. They have always seen themselves as separate from the old USSR and tried to maintain a distance from both China and the USSR when both were trying to dominate internaitonal socialism during the 60s onwards.
: The programs of building the 'New Man' as envisaged by Che Guevara are continuing with great success, 95% of young people believe that socialism could prosper on a level playing field.
Hmmm - the 'New Man' theory however is debatable. Firstly this was largely the construction of Castro himself with Guevara lending the theory to these bones. Cuban society pre-1959 revolution was wrought with corruption - the state performed the functions for business and largely business was American in some form or another. Castro was first to make a call on Cubans to turn their back on this perception and belief system that it was alright to operate a society by such means - he wanted a 'New Man' to emerge. Basically he was rebuilding Cuban society - doing this whilst fighting against US imperialism, the demands made from soviet countries, navigating a path in international revolutionary circles and improving living standards makes Cuba a unique example ... but this is where I differ with you.
We cannot uphold Cuba as an example of socialism. It _is_ a unique example and has unique perameters. It's close proximity to the US has meant and will mean that they will always have to be heavily militarised, the make up of the Cuban pysche has always been dominated by US aggression - whether exploitative pre-1959 or destructive post'59.
Post 1959 Cuba gradually became more and dependent on USSR deals - making it a somewhat necessary evil of replacing (only partly tho) the role of the US with the USSR.
The fact that Cuba too has a long running history of revolution - there is always a necessity to state which revolution you are talking about when talking about Cuba - means that Castro and Guevara were wrong in thinking that they could replicate their revolution the world over - Bolivia for example and much of S.America, whilst Angola _did_ have similar dynamics and so benefited more than any S.American country from Cuban aid.
Other countries have more of a tradition of social and economic upheaval based around parliamentary means - no less of a revolution just a different means - for example Central and Southern America. It has usually only been because of increased CIA/ US aggression that these parliamentary revolutions fail to last.
Basically I don't think Cuba can be replicated and Cuba thinks that too - the change in foreign policy marked in the 70's and 80's saw less and less of Guevara's international efforts to bring revolution from a small elite of fighters etc and Castro himself has made numerous speeches that 'apologise' for the mistakes made in these attempts.
However, this is not to deride what Cuba has achieved - IF the US did leave well alone I'm sure Cuba would transform itself into a new form of socialist state ... it is naive to assume however that it would necessarily be a great and wonderful one. The Cuban economy works because it _is_ under threat, because it _is_ sanctioned, what would happen once this fencing came down is anyones guess - Castro and Guevara were proponents of hard work and the living of theory - the 'New Man' - would this still be so achieved once products and money came flooding into the Cuban economy unchecked ... hmmm??
