Re: [OPE] Cuba After Fidel Castro

paulbullock@ebms-ltd.co.uk

Paul C.

regretably you seem not to know much about the democratic process in 
Cuba.You say Cuba's d.m. bodies have a
"social composition is unrepresentative by background and current situation
with that of the population as a whole"... You are quite wrong, as you would 
see if you studied the position or visited and talked to the elected 
represdentatives of the people.

However your comment would be quite correct for eg the USA.

Paul B.

----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Paul Cockshott" <wpc@dcs.gla.ac.uk>
To: "Outline on Political Economy mailing list" <ope@lists.csuchico.edu>
Sent: Monday, June 30, 2008 4:05 PM
Subject: RE: [OPE] Cuba After Fidel Castro

It has nothing to do with the response of the masses, but
of sections within the leadership of a socialist country who
end up favouring the widening use of market mechanims.

In a hierarchical state with a president or head of state
the person in that position holds great influence. Even
individuals of personal revolutionary heroism can end up
favouring, and enforcing, the restoration of market relations
as the experience of Deng, an old Long Marcher shows.

So long as Cuba has in effect a centralised decision making
body whose social composition is unrepresentative by background and current 
situation
with that of the population as a whole, a simimilar situation can occur.

Paul Cockshott
Dept of Computing Science
University of Glasgow
+44 141 330 1629
www.dcs.gla.ac.uk/~wpc/reports/

-----Original Message-----
From: ope-bounces@lists.csuchico.edu on behalf of glevy@pratt.edu
Sent: Mon 6/30/2008 3:47 PM
To: Outline on Political Economy mailing list
Subject: RE: [OPE] Cuba After Fidel Castro

> The reference to the great helmsman seems to have passed you by
slightly.

No, In was aware of it, Paul.  I don't
think that Mao = Fidel.
The way in which the Chinese masses
responded to the death
of Mao was - at least in large part - a
response to the experience
of the Cultural Revolution (and, indeed,
it was a verdict on that
experience).   There was
nothing similar to the CR in Cuba
(thankfully).  The role
of Castro in the Cuban Communist Party
was also, imo, quite
different from the role of Mao in the Chinese
Communist Party.

In solidarity, Jerry

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

> _______________________________________________
> ope mailing list
> ope@lists.csuchico.edu
> https://lists.csuchico.edu/mailman/listinfo/ope
> 

_______________________________________________
ope mailing list
ope@lists.csuchico.edu
https://lists.csuchico.edu/mailman/listinfo/ope