Discussion 1: One's reason to stay is another's reason to leave
After going through the various modules I realized that I did not know as much about Cuba as I thought. I previously only knew about the history of Cuba from video games and family members.
While there were a bunch of different topics that struck me about Cuba, the main one that I felt was the most interesting was the juxtaposition between people who left Cuba and hated Cuba's socialism due to their experiences and the people who stayed in Cuba and loved socialism due to their experiences. Most people outside of Cuba believe that Cubans hated socialism because of the fact that it was oppressive and did not give much freedom to anyone. It was interesting to see in the videos “What does the embargo mean for Cuba?” and “Capitalism in Cuba” the different reasons for liking and disliking capitalism or socialism. I found it very interesting when the news crew was interviewing the lady who had lived in Cuba the entire time and was heavily disliking the movement towards capitalism. Some of the reasons that she used for liking socialism were also some of the reasons why certain people wanted to leave Cuba. A better example of this is with the schoolgirl interviews. The school girls said that they disliked capitalism and they were only using it to get their country back on track but ultimately planned to not have it be a part of Cuban culture. They said that they liked socialism because it made people equal and it made their society better and it was all due to the fact that the government had control over all aspects of business and life. The political dissidents said that they left Cuba because of the total control that the government had on the market and their lives resulting in them being oppressed and having little to no freedom. They even reiterate that even with the increased amount of freedoms, it is still not enough for Cuba to be considered a non-oppressive country.
Here's my take on this, I personally believe that the schoolgirl interviews and the interview of the guy who runs the government-owned meat store were purely propaganda or people trying to not be put in jail by the government. The old woman on the other hand is different in my eyes. I personally believe that she had legitimate reasons for disliking capitalism due to the inequality that it can create if left unchecked. Being from America, I believe that socialism in its purest and incorruptible form is impossible to obtain due to human nature. As an ideology, everyone being equal and having a fair and well-regulated market seems to be a very utopian idea. As seen with Cuba, this didn't happen as much and resulted in a lot of deaths and the systematic removal of Cuban freedoms. On the other side of the argument, capitalism left unchecked creates a massive divide between the poor and the rich if the market is left unchecked. This massive divide can lead to the same oppression as any flawed ideology.
Overall I find it very interesting to get first-person sources from both sides of the argument. Unlike the people who've decided to choose either communism or capitalism as an ideology, people from Cuba were born into socialism and people from America were born into capitalism. This means that we can get a first-person source from both sides of the argument with legitimate experiences and our own personal reasoning. This collection of personal experiences and personal reasoning I personally believe would be a great way to analyze the current situation in Cuba.
Questions:
What aspects of people's lives do you think affected people’s decision to flee Cuba or stay in Cuba for the exact same reasons? (Ex. people wanted to stay because the government controlled everything and people wanted to leave because the government-controlled everything)
How do you think the sentiment towards socialism and capitalism will change in Cuba with the new generations since people in Cuba are being born into a semi-capitalistic but also semi-socialistic economy and lifestyle?
I think that your take on the interviews would probably be agreed upon by most people outside of Cuba. I think it's definitely a possibility that some of them were propaganda. However, have you considered that they also may have been raised to believe these ideas and that they haven't been taught to think other ways? I think that is also important to consider. To answer your second question, I would say that the sentiment towards capitalism will change a great deal with the new generations. I think as tensions begin to decrease between the U.S and Cuba that there will be more positivity towards capitalism. Even though there may be more positivity towards it, that doesn't mean that the government of Cuba will hesitate to shut down things that they disagree with that the people of Cuba may say.
ReplyDeleteHi Connor!
ReplyDeleteI find your take on the social attitudes and perceptions of socialism by Cubans interesting. I think one of the most telling social factors that could impact peoples sentiment would be their social class. Those with less now have more because of the revolution, and those with more have less as they had something to lose. It only makes sense that people will favor the system that benefits them the most, and vice versa. Regarding your second question, I feel that it will somewhat resemble China, where people feel patriotic and have relatively higher standard of living while superficially supporting communism. The younger generations will grow up in a relatively stable society, and will feel as if things should stay the way they are and support the government (like newer generations in China). However, this depends on the amount of propaganda and control the government exerts over its citizens as there is a fine line between contentment and resentment.
To answer your second question, I think it is likely that Cuban attitudes towards capitalism may continue to trend in a more accepting direction. Given that they seem to have an element of capitalism in their markets, there is certainly not an outward disdain for capitalism shown by regular people. I think this will not take away from the pride that Cubans feel in their national government, and along with that their socialist way of life. Rather I believe that people in Cuba recognize that some capitalism and especially economic support from the US will help create better lives for them by fixing economic disparities in the country.
ReplyDeleteI feel that the current power of the American dollar in Cuba will push many towards capitalism. The ideals of socialism are wide-spread throughout the culture, but the fact that the accumulation of material goods, particularly in excess, is currently a way to present social status shows me that capitalist ideals are starting to seep through the cracks. I think that country-wide poverty and a lack of cashflow since the end of the Cold War has left many Cubans with a very low quality of life, causing many to want to abandon their homes in favor of their chances getting into the US.
ReplyDeleteHi Connor,
ReplyDeleteI found you second question particularly interesting. I am not speaking for everyone, however, many Eastern Europeans families I know who grew up and "fled" the communist regimes are very opposed to the ideology.... so much so that their political beliefs are very conservative and they embrace capitalism with open arms. It should be mentioned that there has yet to be a communist regime that follows the manifestos textbook ideology and lacks corruption– since the corruption of the regime becomes synonymous with the ideology (evident in Western propaganda). I personally cannot tell until I travel to Cuba and meet the people there if they share similar trauma to eastern Europeans. I do think that the slow creep of American currency and American tourists in Cuba might influence Cubans to embrace more capitalist ventures, but the continued U.S. Embargo might also swish opinions the other way. Why would they want to adopt the ideals of a country that continues to hurt them?