Cuba, Socialism & Concrete Examples of Human Progress

In this world dominated by the economics of capitalism, where profit supersedes the importance of people's needs, we have all had it drilled into us for the last 100 years that socialism is a bad thing.  We can easily use the word "drilled" because all one has to do is ask for a comprehensive definition of socialism to find out the people who say they oppose it find it extremely difficult to provide anything that could even pose as a definition for what socialism truly is.  And, we hear the constant data proclaiming that people read more in 2019 than ever, but those statistics don't explain the quality of material being read.  In other words, a person taking those reading surveys can count a dime store romance novel as reading a book as much as a comprehensive analysis and history of socialist movements.  What I'm saying is you don't see people everyday reading about socialism, yet the degree and passion people have in talking about it would suggest otherwise.  In response to that contradiction, what we wish to do here is challenge that dilemma.

January 1, 2019, represents the 60th year commemoration of the Cuban socialist revolution.  This is critically important for several reasons.  First, understand that their revolution reaffirms that revolution and building socialism is a process, not an event.  Most people trained under capitalism view revolution as some sort of social uprising that happens unplanned that evolves into the transfer of power in societies.  People who think this way see revolution as an event.  They don't understand that revolution isn't just the military struggle to seize power.  That is one very small part of the revolutionary process.  Revolution is the transformation of society.  In fact, that's the definition of revolution - uncompromising change.  That type of change takes time.  So, although the Cuban revolution initially won power when Che Guevara led a military battalion into the Cuban city of Santa Clara and Fidel and others claimed victory over Havana on January 1, 1959, that was not the victory of the revolution.  That was simply the beginning.  Their revolution is still very much in motion.

Second, the current phase of socialist development in Cuba is the part of the process where the revolution utilizes the state as a tool to advance the people forward to communism.  Again, people trained by capitalism believe all types of wild things.  One of those wild things is that socialism and communism are variations of the same thing.  They are not.  Socialism is the period of transformation from capitalism to communism.  Consequently, communism has never happened in human history because in order for it to happen, the majority of the world would have to be socialist.  So, the people who claim "communism hasn't worked" or "Cuba is communist" demonstrate their ignorance of revolutionary systems.  Communism is a society that has eliminated class divisions and oppression.  Its a society where people's consciousness has risen to the collective level where state institutions like police, social service, etc., are no longer needed because the people's conscious altruism provides for societal needs.  This is clearly not a reality that happens overnight so back to the first point, revolutions - e.g. socialist development - takes time.  

Cuba's revolution being 60 years old today is instructive on the last point.  The argument we are making here is that socialism serves to advance the people towards communism.  Therefore, socialism is the period where the state's primary purpose is to provide the resources for this advancement.  Its important to understand this because if you don't, you will fall for the anti-revolution propaganda that since socialism isn't "Utopia" revolutions don't work and socialism/communism isn't possible.  Socialists never said socialism is utopia.  Socialism is the construction period where the revolution is being built.  And the state as an instrument is utilized to carry out this building process.  Where socialism's utilization of the state differs from the role of the state in capitalism is that the state under capitalism has the purpose of oppressing and repressing the people.  Police agencies under capitalism are clear examples of this.

So, how is Cuba using the state to advance their revolution and what advances have they made in the last 60 years?  If you go back to the 1950s when Cuba was reduced to being a tourist location for rich people from the U.S. (pretty much the way much of the Caribbean is still exploited today), Cuba was a society dominated by racism, class oppression, homophobia, and all of the pitfalls of capitalism in a machismo society.  Once the revolution seized power, these problems didn't magically vanish, and they aren't magically vanishing under capitalism or any of the fantasy anarchist societies so many people today use to justify their opposition to socialism.  What Cuba has accomplished is they immediately utilized the state to prepare the people to grow their consciousness around the values of the revolution e.g. people over profit.  Obviously, since the majority of the world has it beaten into them that everything is individualistic, it will take time and struggle to change this thinking.  So, the Cuban revolution's method of addressing that was to make education completely and without question free to everyone, no exceptions.  There is no student debt in Cuba.  No financial aid.  None of that is necessary because school is completely free.  And since their focus is on truly educating their people, they prioritized their educational system.  That means unlike capitalist societies who struggle for money for school supplies, to pay teachers, etc., because education is not a priority, Cuba placed much of their resources into this educational process.  This act, coupled with completely free health care, guaranteed employment, etc., has created an environment where people can concentrate on improving their understanding of the world and their role in it.  This is important because people in capitalist societies never have the opportunity to do this since they spend the majority of their life struggling to scrape out enough money to pay education and hospital bills.  To look for a job that pays enough to do that, etc.  

With this type of revolutionary focus on the people, the results so far in Cuba have been overwhelming.  Sure, racism still exists on all levels, but nothing compared to capitalist societies.  The Cuban government spends large amounts of money annually to ensure their educational system teaches their students about the transatlantic slave trade.  They also have a current comprehensive campaign about LGBTQ rights in their educational process.  The point is if you make education free, thus eliminating the obstacle e.g money, that people have which prevents them from receiving an education, then everyone will go to school.  Then, if you ensure the type of education just mentioned is prioritized, then everyone will learn healthy and correct history.  And, if you do this over generations, people's consciousness will grow.  This is why Cuba, a country with that machismo history, can have such a progressive-focus on anti-racism and LGBTQ.  Nothing against them, but you don't see that from the Dominican Republic, Puerto Rico, or Jamaica, three countries in direct geographical proximity to Cuba with the same histories.  At the rate Cuba is going, those backward ideologies will become firm minority thinking in their society in the measurable future.  That's progress, especially when you cannot refute that those backward ideologies are advancing in capitalist societies.

Another example of the progress of the Cuban revolution is in the area of the people's collective progress.  Cuba's focus on this people focused society has created realities where they are the only country in the Western Hemisphere, including the U.S., that has eliminated mother to child HIV transmissions.  They have wiped out cervical cancer and their infant mortality rate is among the lowest on Earth (much lower than the U.S.).  These types of advances will only increase as they continue on their revolutionary path.

Finally, the question must be addressed about human rights.  This is the question that constantly gets brought up in challenging the legitimacy of the Cuban (or anyone's) revolution.  The people don't have free access to internet as they should.  There is still oppression.  We already said socialism isn't perfect.  And, it certainly isn't going to be perfect when the strongest capitalist country on Earth is just 90 miles away and has engaged in a mass campaign of terrorism against the revolution for the entire 60 year period.  The hypocrisy is overwhelming.  Cuba has every right to protect their revolution and they have decided that they will sacrifice some individual rights e.g. how much money people can make, and how much bourgeoisie information they permit to be spread within their society, in order to protect themselves.  If you study their revolutionary process you would know that questions like that around internet access are constantly discussed.  You would know that they are working to figure out how to have their own internet system that isn't reliant on the one we all use.  Right now as I type this, I'm forced to pay for a monthly service to block people from hacking in and stealing my information. I could go on and on, but the point is no logical person could blame the Cubans for wanting something better than the current internet system.  Most of us in capitalist societies use it for large portions of everyday and we have nothing productive to show for it.  

As it relates to democracy, the Cuban people have demonstrated that they support the direction their government is taking.  Proof of that is in the fact their revolution has survived and flourished, despite the dis-integration of the former Soviet Union, their chief support for the first 30 years of their revolution.  They have advanced in those last 30 years and that would be impossible, with all of the sabotage coming from the U.S., unless the Cuban revolution enjoyed massive popular support.  Anyone who studies Cuba (emphasis on study, not just traveling there, although that's great too), knows this to be correct.  The reason Cubans support their government is because their government is them.  Unlike government in capitalist societies where representation is a reflection of who can afford it, representation in Cuba is a direct reflection of the diverse people of their society.  Their committees for Defense of the Revolution (CDC) ensure people have on the ground input in their communities.  Real input, not just writing a letter to some legislator who will never read it.

And yes, we know, you either come from yourself, or you know someone from Cuba who disagrees with everything written here.  So, that to you means none of this can be correct because of what this person from Cuba says.  Its funny how that personalized subjective analysis thing works.  You can say that all day, but when I tell you I'm an African who has lived with white supremacy my entire life in capitalist countries, so therefore, I know this system must be destroyed, you would never say that because I've experienced that trauma, that's the final word on it.  These are the games of capitalism.  That's why we have research and study with discussion to develop our understanding of things beyond people's personal and subjective opinions.  You and/or your friend may be from Cuba, but that doesn't mean you understand anything about the Cuban revolution just like the random person on any street in any U.S. capitalist city probably knows absolutely nothing about the political working in the city they live in.  Sorry, but your identity politics this way won't work. 

The Cuban revolution is a shining light for all of oppressed humanity.  They are providing a clear example of how to build a society where people actually advance.  Where problems are actually solved.  And, where all of this happens where people's needs are prioritized above money.  So many people for so many years swore that the Cuban revolution would die the moment Fidel Castro wasn't leading the country and when he died.  Both have happened and the Cuban revolution is stronger than ever.  Happy 60 years and many, many, more in your revolutionary path.  We are dong our upmost best to create the conditions so that we can do the same in Africa and throughout the African world.