It's always seemed to me that Communism (and Socialism, too) was a dirty word (particularly if you watch Fox news...). But, as an avid Che Guevara enthusiast, I think that someone needs to extol the few positive things that have come from communism. After all, it can't all be bad, right? So here are the positives, as I see them, that have resulted from communism in Cuba. In list form.
1. Healthcare in Cuba. The Cuban government was essentially overthrown by its own citizens and 82 Marxists who disembarked on one of the island's lovely shores. in the 60 years since then, it has developed a government run healthcare system that boasts quality of care similar to that of the United States.
2. Literacy Rates in Cuba. Though communists might not always seem to be the nicest folks, they get shit done. In 1959 the literacy rate in Cuba was "between 60-76%", but in just a few years under the regime of Fidel Castro, it had been raised to 96%.
3. These t-shirts! I mean, who doesn't love 'em? (These might not be a direct result of communism but...)
4. Awesome old cars. Though many cigar fans are disheartened by the US embargo on Cuba (I've heard Nicaraguan cigars are nearly as good as Cubans these days?), it has had one cool effect. People in Cuba drive super retro cars because they can't import new ones.
Of course, when you compare these gains to the millions of deaths and imprisonments in communist revolutions/after communist overthrow (I'm looking at you, Stalin and Mao), the positives probably don't outweigh the negatives; but, it's important to remember that nothing is black and white. It's a complicated picture, and there are two sides to every story.
I think that your point about not everything being black and white is a valid point but I feel like you refute your whole post at the end. Also your first two reasons are valid but your last two seem to turn your whole blog post into a joke, which I'm not sure if that was your intention? If the bad outweighs the good, in my opinion that makes the main thing bad so in this case communism is bad. You may feel differently but I think based on your concluding section you also feel that communism is overall just bad.
ReplyDeleteI personally like that used humor in your post. If you look at Cuba you can say they have been successful. However you could look at Hitler and say he's successful. In these type of systems people produce results out of fear. Fear is what drives these radical governments. In America you can fail and no one will kill you or imprison you for it. We are encouraged to give back and do our part for society but not forced. Yes in an ideal world communism sounds alright but you must have a leader and with communism that leader has never been to great.
ReplyDeleteMollie,
ReplyDeleteI believe that if you're going to try to make the case for communism, better reasons must be given. Your first reason was that the healthcare system is successful, and has the same quality of care as the Untied States does. If what you're saying about quality is true, I'm guessing that the price of healthcare in Cuba must be extremely high. Your second reason is the increase in literacy. This has nothing to do with communism as a system of government; in fact, many non-communist nations can also boast such numbers, even higher. Luxembourg, for example, as of 2000 has had a literacy rate of 100%. When you list t-shirts as your third reason, I'm assuming that you are referring to the trendy Che Guevara shirts. I cannot in the slightest bit understand how you can be a "Che Guevara enthusiast." Did you know that Guevara presided over hundreds of executions? He also presided over the machine gunning of pregnant women. In a speech in front of the UN IN 1963, Guevara boasted, "Yes, we have executed, we are executing, and we will continue to execute." He even wrote in his journal how he killed Eutimio Guerra, bragging how he "ended the problem with a .32 caliber pistol, in the right side of his brain." How would you react if I posted and stated that I was an "avid Adolf Hitler enthusiast." I'm guessing you would greet me with benevolence, considering you support Che Guevara who belongs in the same category as Hitler does: Mass Murdering Maniacs.