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| Photograph: Alamy/ The Economist |
On the road towards capitalism
The Economist
March 24, 2012
Citation:http://tinyurl.com/7gu5jgd
In 1998 Pope John Paul II visited Cuba, prompting outsiders to await a political opening of the kind that brought down communism in his native Poland. Sadly, even two decades after the fall of the Berlin Wall, Cuba remains one of the handful of countries around the world where communism lives on. Illness forced Fidel Castro to step down in 2006, but his slightly younger brother, Raúl, is in charge, flanked by a cohort of elderly Stalinists. When Pope Benedict XVI visits the island next week, expectations will be more muted.
Yet a momentous change has begun in Cuba in the meantime. The country has started on the road towards capitalism; and that will have big implications for the United States and the rest of Latin America.
Article clipped; see link above for full version.
On the eve of this changing of the tides, Raul Castro has embarked upon a journey to revitalize the Cuban nation. His paces have been slow as he attempts to balance the one-party rule system with the nature of his endeavors. Unlike his brother Fidel, Raul is a more practical man who recognizes that if the socialist system in Cuba does not adapt to the times it will fall victim to the changes it brings. As such Raul has turned to capitalist measures in order to organize and evaluate the current state of the country and its economy. One major step that Raul has taken has been to privatize certain sectors of Cuban society. For example, he has plans to transform the country's agriculture system, which employs a third of the country's workforce, into a wholly private sector.
However, there are consequences that can result from reform. Although Raul promises that he is strengthening the Communist party's control by intimating sustaining measures, he faces opposition from not only party members but ordinary citizens as well. When talking about this slow and steady change that is occurring one cannot avoid the issue of the future successor of the Castros. It is Raul's hope that through thesis measures of reform that he will find himself an heir to continue the work of him and his brother. There is a fear that the longer that Raul waits to transition Cuba's society and economy the more likely that the current government could face extinction. Another topic that cannot be ignored is the role that the United States will play in this process. The U.S.'s long history of both support and intervention in Cuba as well as the presence of 1.2 million Cuban-Americans in south Florida alone makes it unavoidable that at some point the U.S. will have to address Raul's changes. Its fellow Latin America countries feel that it would be more beneficial to encourage this type of growth, but it remains uncertain whether the U.S. will take action against the Castros, despite their current measures of opening up. What is certain is that after years of failure Cuba is taking a step forward by setting aside its politics for a moment in order to improve and ensure the continuation of its society.
As I reflect upon Cuba's journey towards capitalism I cannot help but think about what the consequences of this journey will be for the education sector. As a part of the socialist rhetoric, education like health care and other social services are available to everyone, but that has proven to be a system that has curtailed over time. Schools and hospitals have not been able to maintain their standards and practices hence inequalities have arisen from these situations of deterioration. As these problems are rampant throughout the various sectors I wonder how Raul will approach these problems and try to solve them. If he is so concerned with improving society so that its citizens will be ready and willing to continue the socialist way of life under new leadership when the Castros are gone, I would assume that education could be an integral component of this transformation process. A combined effort of preparing Cuban citizens, from school age to adulthood, to appreciate and see the positives of the socialist government might prove fruitful for Raul's end goals for this transformation. However, if he chooses to create a drastic change and privatize the education sector I feel that from what I have read about similar situations in Chile and India that this may end up causing more harm than good. By losing control of the education system he would be losing the power to control the knowledge of the ordinary citizen which seems counter to the socialist practices that his brother has maintained in the past. In its following years I will be curious to see what will happen to the Cuban education system and whether any changes will be made in order to expedite this process of transformation. Needless to say Raul will have to be careful when he is maintaining this balance of progress while also staying true to the socialist rhetoric so that he can appease his fellow party members and prepare his citizens for the future of Cuba.
March 24, 2012
Citation:http://tinyurl.com/7gu5jgd
In 1998 Pope John Paul II visited Cuba, prompting outsiders to await a political opening of the kind that brought down communism in his native Poland. Sadly, even two decades after the fall of the Berlin Wall, Cuba remains one of the handful of countries around the world where communism lives on. Illness forced Fidel Castro to step down in 2006, but his slightly younger brother, Raúl, is in charge, flanked by a cohort of elderly Stalinists. When Pope Benedict XVI visits the island next week, expectations will be more muted.
Yet a momentous change has begun in Cuba in the meantime. The country has started on the road towards capitalism; and that will have big implications for the United States and the rest of Latin America.
Article clipped; see link above for full version.
On the eve of this changing of the tides, Raul Castro has embarked upon a journey to revitalize the Cuban nation. His paces have been slow as he attempts to balance the one-party rule system with the nature of his endeavors. Unlike his brother Fidel, Raul is a more practical man who recognizes that if the socialist system in Cuba does not adapt to the times it will fall victim to the changes it brings. As such Raul has turned to capitalist measures in order to organize and evaluate the current state of the country and its economy. One major step that Raul has taken has been to privatize certain sectors of Cuban society. For example, he has plans to transform the country's agriculture system, which employs a third of the country's workforce, into a wholly private sector.
However, there are consequences that can result from reform. Although Raul promises that he is strengthening the Communist party's control by intimating sustaining measures, he faces opposition from not only party members but ordinary citizens as well. When talking about this slow and steady change that is occurring one cannot avoid the issue of the future successor of the Castros. It is Raul's hope that through thesis measures of reform that he will find himself an heir to continue the work of him and his brother. There is a fear that the longer that Raul waits to transition Cuba's society and economy the more likely that the current government could face extinction. Another topic that cannot be ignored is the role that the United States will play in this process. The U.S.'s long history of both support and intervention in Cuba as well as the presence of 1.2 million Cuban-Americans in south Florida alone makes it unavoidable that at some point the U.S. will have to address Raul's changes. Its fellow Latin America countries feel that it would be more beneficial to encourage this type of growth, but it remains uncertain whether the U.S. will take action against the Castros, despite their current measures of opening up. What is certain is that after years of failure Cuba is taking a step forward by setting aside its politics for a moment in order to improve and ensure the continuation of its society.
As I reflect upon Cuba's journey towards capitalism I cannot help but think about what the consequences of this journey will be for the education sector. As a part of the socialist rhetoric, education like health care and other social services are available to everyone, but that has proven to be a system that has curtailed over time. Schools and hospitals have not been able to maintain their standards and practices hence inequalities have arisen from these situations of deterioration. As these problems are rampant throughout the various sectors I wonder how Raul will approach these problems and try to solve them. If he is so concerned with improving society so that its citizens will be ready and willing to continue the socialist way of life under new leadership when the Castros are gone, I would assume that education could be an integral component of this transformation process. A combined effort of preparing Cuban citizens, from school age to adulthood, to appreciate and see the positives of the socialist government might prove fruitful for Raul's end goals for this transformation. However, if he chooses to create a drastic change and privatize the education sector I feel that from what I have read about similar situations in Chile and India that this may end up causing more harm than good. By losing control of the education system he would be losing the power to control the knowledge of the ordinary citizen which seems counter to the socialist practices that his brother has maintained in the past. In its following years I will be curious to see what will happen to the Cuban education system and whether any changes will be made in order to expedite this process of transformation. Needless to say Raul will have to be careful when he is maintaining this balance of progress while also staying true to the socialist rhetoric so that he can appease his fellow party members and prepare his citizens for the future of Cuba.
I agree that the future of education in Cuba is unclear. You bring up the fact that currently in the education and healthcare sectors in Cuba standards and practices are not maintained. The deterioration of these systems breed inequity, but I would argue within capitalism, privatization breeds just as many inequities over time. (e.g. private versus public schools in many parts of the U.S.)
ReplyDeleteI also want to question this article's underlying assumption regarding the revitalization of Cuba. The author equates revitalization with capitalism. Is the "road toward Capitalism" the only way to revitalize?
It is apparent that the current situation in Cuba isn't full of rainbows and ponies, but is capitalism the best solution? Let's take a look at education and healthcare in the U.S. I'm not sure I would recommend capitalism to Raúl, but unfortunately, I do not have a better alternative.
Very interesting perspective that you provide here Jennifer, and with your invested interest in Cuba, I know that this is an important subject for you. I too have always been fascinated with Cuba -- in all its mystery, charm and politics. As you write, "Cuba is taking a step forward by setting aside its politics for a moment in order to improve and ensure the continuation of its society." My question is, which society? The maintenance of power by the Castro family? The continuation of communist regime? Or, simply, Cuba, the home, the country, the culture, etc.?
ReplyDeleteI am particularly intrigued by the inequalities you discuss that have developed as a result of the deterioration of health care and social service systems. I wonder then will this infiltration of capitalism not lead to a greater imbalance between the rich and the poor as has happened in the United States. Therefore I must agree with Evan's comment above. Instead of agreeing with the author, who when we consider IS writing for the Economist (where has its own political agenda and ideology), I agree with Jennifer regarding education and transformation!
Thanks, Jennifer. I think this is great that you are finding "non-education" stories but understanding how educational systems are implicated in other shifts. If you can try to pull from other sources, such as what happend to China's system when that communist country started to allow for certain kinds of capitalist ventures, that would enrich your discussion immensely.
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