Cuba & the U.S. (11 of 11): Why Cuba will probably not improve its relations with the U.S. too much; references

If you prefer, you can read the whole Cuba report as a PDF by clicking here.

Summary: Efficient dictators always make sure they have an enemy to distract their subjects.

Having said all this, I don’t think Cuba under the Castros will ever normalize relations with the U.S. For dictators such as Hitler, Stalin, and Fidel, there is an advantage to having their subjects paranoid about foreigners. The foreigners serve as the focus of hatred and fear, distracting the dictator’s subjects from the causes and effects of unbearable conditions at home. If the subjects had too much time to think about their situation, they might just decide to rebel against the dictator.

Statism—in fact and in principle—is nothing more than gang rule. A dictatorship is a gang devoted to looting the effort of the productive citizens of its own country. When a statist ruler exhausts his own country’s economy, he attacks his neighbors. It is his only means of postponing internal collapse and prolonging his rule. A country that violates the rights of its own citizens, will not respect the rights of its neighbors. Those who do not recognize individual rights, will not recognize the rights of nations: a nation is only a number of individuals.

Statism needs war; a free country does not. (Ayn Rand, “The Roots of War”)

To the Castro brothers, the United States has been a godsend: an enemy who is nearby, powerful, and yet exceptionally unlikely to invade the country, unless it suffers a massive attack first. Fidel and Raul Castro may try to get more money via trade or aid, but they will never welcome the U.S. as a friend.

===== 

Suggested Readings by Ayn Rand and Objectivist Scholars

Rand, Ayn. “The Cuban Crisis,” “How to Demoralize a Nation,” and “The Munich of World War III?” The Ayn Rand Column. 1991.

Rand, Ayn. “The Roots of War.” The Objectivist, June 1966; reprinted in Capitalism: The Unknown Ideal (Signet, 1986).

Schwartz, Peter. The Foreign Policy of Self-Interest: A Moral Ideal for America. 2004.

 

Sources Consulted

Aside from the speeches referred to in the text, see:

CIA World Factbook for Cuba: https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/print/cu.html (accessed 4/27/09)

“Organization of American States” in Wikipedia.

Parmet, Herbert S. "Kennedy, John Fitzgerald"; http://0-www.anb.org.library.nysoclib.org:80/articles/07/07-00152.html ; American National Biography Online Feb. 2000. Access Date: Wed May 21 08:43:15 EDT 2008

Paterson, Thomas G. "Cuban Missile Crisis"; www.anb.org/articles/cush/e0377.html ;
The Oxford Companion to United States History, Paul Boyer, ed., 2001. Access Date: Wed May 21 08:41:58 EDT 2008

U.S. State Department, Background Report on Cuba: http://www.state.gov/r/pa/ei/bgn/2886.htm (dated 8/08, accessed 4/27/09)

 

Scholarly Sources Recommended by the Above

Blight, James, et al. Cuba on the Brink. 1993.

Chang, Laurence, and Peter Kornbluth, eds. The Cuban Missile Crisis, 1962. 1992.

Fursenko, Aleksandr, and Timothy Naftali. One Hell of a Gamble: Khrushchev, Castro, and Kennedy, 1958-1964. 1997.

Gleijeses, Piero. “Ships in the Night: The CIA, the White House, and the Bay of Pigs.” Journal of Latin American Studies 27 (Feb. 1995): 1-42.

Nathan, James, ed. The Cuban Missile Crisis Revisited. 1992.

Paterson, Thomas G. Contesting Castro: The United States and the Triumph of the Cuban Revolution. 1994.

White, Mark J. Missiles in Cuba: Khrushchev, Castro, and the 1962 Crisis. 1997. 

Cuba & the U.S. (6 of 11): Individual Rights and Civil Liberties

If you prefer, you can read the whole Cuba report as a PDF by clicking here.

Summary:  Cuba is a repressive totalitarian dictatorship in which the rights of individuals are subordinated to the needs of the state.

Cubans have “the rights to assembly, demonstration and association” (Article 54), but “None of the freedoms which are recognized for citizens can be exercised contrary … to the existence and objectives of the socialist state, or contrary to the decision of the Cuban people to build socialism and communism” (Art. 62).

Free speech and a free press are guaranteed, but only “in keeping with the objectives of a socialist society.” The press, radio, television, cinema “and other mass media” are “state or social property and can never be private property” (Art. 53). The Constitution allows freedom of artistic expression “as long as its content is not contrary to the Revolution” (Art. 39d).

Only recently have Cubans been allowed to own cell phones, but the cost of wireless service is several months’ salary (a typical worker makes $17 per month), and must be paid in convertible pesos, which can be acquired only by those who have U.S. dollars. Computer ownership was recently legalized, but access to the Internet is severely restricted with respect to who can gain access and what sites are available.

The Constitution “recognizes, respects and guarantees freedom of religion” (Art. 8), but religious groups that do not register with the state are subject to official harassment and repression. Assemblies of more than three (three!) people—for religious meetings or any other purpose—are illegal without government permission.

Movement within Cuba is restricted. Police routinely stop cars to interrogate passengers. Dissidents are often sent from urban centers back to their home towns for years, on grounds that they are “socially dangerous.” The penalty for attempting to flee the island illegally by boat or raft is several years in prison. The permissions required to leave the country legally cost about three years’ salary. Since much Cuban immigration was illegal, it’s difficult to get an accurate tally of how many fled Cuba. The ballpark figures seem to be over 100,000 from 1960 to 1979, and another 125,000 during the Mariel boatlifts of 1980.

According to the Constitution, Cuba has only one political party—the Communist Party—and it is “the highest leading force of society and of the state, which organizes and guides the common effort toward the goals of the construction of socialism and the progress toward a communist society.” In the elections for the National Assembly held in 2008, the Communist Party won 98% of the vote. In the elections within the National Assembly for president, Raul won 100% of the vote. While membership in the Communist Party is not mandatory, it is required de facto for promotion or for holding any office.

The U.S. State Department estimates that there are some 200 political prisoners in Cuba and that another 5,000 people are or have been held on the vague charge of “dangerousness,” for which no proof is required. Police can detain without a warrant anyone accused of a crime against state security. Detainees can be held for years without a trial.

Two years of military service are required for both men and women. The current size of the armed forces is about 49,000, down from a peak of 235,000 in 1994, when Cuba was sending “advisors” to help Communist rebellions around the world. Since much of the Cuban army was funded by Soviet subsidies, the army’s shrinking size reflects financial considerations rather than a turn toward pacifism.

Cuba & the U.S. (5 of 11): Cuban Ideology

If you prefer, you can read the whole Cuba report as a PDF by clicking here.

Summary:  Cuba’s government today is explicitly socialist, as it has been for 50 years.

According to Cuba’s 1976 Constitution (rev. 1992), Cuba is explicitly socialist: it is “guided by the ideas of José Martí and the political and social ideas of Marx, Engels and Lenin” and has “the final objective of building a communist society” (Preamble). Further, “Cuba is an independent and sovereign socialist state of workers, organized with all and for the good of all as a united and democratic republic, for the enjoyment of political freedom, social justice, individual and collective well-being and human solidarity.” The Constitution states that “education is a function of the state and is free of charge” (Art. 39b) and that the state guarantees the right to free health care, including free dental care (Art. 50). Work is guaranteed (although not the career of one’s choice), and those who cannot work are guaranteed enough to live on (Art. 45).

In a lengthy speech of 7/27/2008 entitled “21st Century Socialism,” Raul Castro recounts the battles and advances of socialism. He talks the talk and walks the walk. There is no indication that he secretly desires major reforms, or that he would cheerfully give up his position as dictator.

According to Marx and Engels, socialism is a transitional stage between the horrors of capitalism and the bliss of communism—between the ownership of the means of production by a few private individuals, and the ownership of such means by the workers. In socialism the government owns the means of production, controlling and planning the economy to best serve the workers. In practice this means that there is no private property, and that every worker is employed by the state and is paid as the state decrees.

Ayn Rand, who grew up in Communist Russia, wrote:

When you consider socialism, do not fool yourself about its nature. Remember that there is no such dichotomy as “human rights” versus “property rights.” No human rights can exist without property rights. Since material goods are produced by the mind and effort of individual men, and are needed to sustain their lives, if the producer does not own the result of his effort, he does not own his life. To deny property rights means to turn men into property owned by the state. Whoever claims the “right” to “redistribute” the wealth produced by others is claiming the “right” to treat human beings as chattel. (“The Monument Builders,” Virtue of Selfishness 91)

How does the abstract idea of socialism play out in Cuba?