[!--quoteo(post=130005:date=Feb 28 2006, 09:21 AM:name=Perun)--][div class=\'quotetop\']QUOTE(Perun @ Feb 28 2006, 09:21 AM) [snapback]130005[/snapback][/div][div class=\'quotemain\'][!--quotec--]
Black Ace brought up the theory that Cuba is an example of Communism in success. That is completely wrong, my friend. The only reason Cuba is still Communist after all these years is not because the ideals are working, but because a charismatic and fairly successful dictator is in power.
So, the reason why Castro is still in power is Castro and not Communism. Communism has failed in Cuba as everywhere else in the world. Cuba is an authoritarian despotic country, not a Communist one.
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I agree that the longevity of a political regime cannot automatically be taken as a sign of its success. Indeed, I tried to raise that point earlier in this thread before it got derailed.
But I wonder why you think that communism has not been successfull in Cuba. Cuba's health and education systems are among the very best in the Americas. Cuban school children routinely outperform their american counterparts on standardized tests.
And while you're right that the Cuban economy collapsed after the fall of the Soviet Union, you can't forget that a large part of the reason for that is not simple economic incompetence or somesuch, but US-imposed economic sanctions. So even if - by some measure - we could say that Cuba's is a failed economic system, it is not obvious to me that this is due to intrinsic problems with communism rather than to US-interference.
Here's another point to think about. What does it mean to say that a political, economic system works? Suppose you have two countries, A and B; the former capitalist, the latter communist. Suppose that 100 years later, country A enjoys great material wealth -- however poorly distributed. It is at the forefront of techonological innovation which allows it to offer the most advanced medical treatments to its citizens -- at least to those that can afford the treatment. Country B, on the other hand, struggles to keep all its people from going hungry. Everyone receives a good standard education and basic health care, but food sometimes has to be rationed and there are certainly no gourmet food stores selling exotic caviar to the well-to-do. Rare or expensive diseases are, unfortunately, a death-sentence.
Can we say that capitalism works and communism doesn't? Can we even say that A is more successfull than B? Well, we'd have to ask a more specific question before it can be answered: A is certainly more successful than B at techonological innovation and generating (total) wealth. But B is more successfull at equally distributing what little is does generate. If they were to fight a war, A would certainly win so maybe -- in the aftermath of such a war -- we would all agree that B was a failed state and that A's leaders did the right thing in bringing (the possibility of) material wealth to B's citizens. But couldn't we also say that B is a more just system than A? You might complain that B is not just because it does not allow its citizens to have a say in the constituion of its governing body or in the content of its laws. B's government, you might say, does not represent its people. If that were true, it would certainly count against B. But does it have to be true? Is communism (as an economic system) inseperable from authoritarianism (as a method of political control)? Not obviously. Besides, A is not necessarily immune from these sorts of criticisms either. In the USA, for example, 90% of all congressional elections are won by the incumbent and nearly half are uncontested.. Even when one of the branches of government does change hands, very little changes in terms of policy. The last significant change in American foreign policy came at the hands of an unelected president. The last significant change in economic policy came in 1936!! This is hardly a democratic system.
In deciding which political/economic system is best, longevity does not settle the issue. Nor, I think, does material wealth. Justice and legitimacy are indispensible.
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