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I leave it to others to deal with Mr Dasgupta's tone...my one comment is in response to his assumption that somehow, because of the US lifting effort to isolate Cuba, means " return of Cuba to the world market is also the return of the Cuban working class to the bosom of the global working class." One has to only reflect upon the fact that Cubans have been involved in healthcare throughout the developing world for many decades, that citizens of the world traveled and traded freely with Cuba, it has participated, however hobbled by sanctions, in the world market, and the US position was regularly and soundly denounced by Latin American countries that stood in solidarity with Cuba. Mr Dasgupta's position might not be too different from the neoliberal fantasies that markets and capitalism have been the reality for all time...perhaps he has forgotten Marx's point that each epoch tries to create an ideological frame that it is both "natural" and "eternal" as justification for each particular form of domination. We shall see what comes of this "turn" in Cuba, but if the rest of the capitalist world is any indication, most likely we will witness increasing inequality and despair in the name of the "freedom" capitalism offers all workers. After all, one of the consequences of China's turn to markets has been more inequality and recently worker unrest and strikes...but then, what more can be expected? On Mon, Mar 28, 2016 at 4:26 PM, Moses Geply < [log in to unmask]> wrote: > Yes, Neoliberalism has won the day. In other words, it is not a surprise > to see a so-called member of this list of critical perspective, "Capital & > Class", to peddle such a pedestrain analysis of "Uncle Sam's" embrace of > Cuba. Have you forgotten the behavior of the "Beast", "Right Honorable" Mr. > Dasgupta? > > In short, let this list continue to enjoy the level of civility it has had > over the years. Hence, your insulting Mr. McKelvey (see your first > paragraph) is totally uncomradely and first of its kind on this list. > > The struggle continues!!!! > > Moses Geply > ........................ > > WHEN YOU CHANGE THE WAY YOU LOOK AT THINGS, THE THINGS YOU LOOK AT CHANGE. > > --- Max Planck > > > > > On Monday, March 28, 2016 5:54 PM, Biswadip <[log in to unmask]> wrote: > > > > Mr McKelvey why not, just for once, accept that the game is up for you and > those who clung on to the coat-tails of "really existing socialism" until > all you have left now is North Korea? > > It is the simple little empirical facts on the ground which undermine your > broad generalisations - the desire of people in Cuba to enjoy some > aspiration in their lives, to enjoy the benefits of consumer goods > available on the world market like people everywhere else, to be able to > travel freely, to be able to express themselves freely. > > From the point of view of the worldwide struggle for socialism, surely > what we would want in Cuba is for workers to be able to form trade unions > of their own free will without coercion, for workers to be able to take > strike action without state harassment, for media to enjoy protection from > harrassment when they expose bureaucratic caprice and parasitism. > > Of course we also want to preserve the social concessions the bureaucrats > have been forced to concede in order to maintain their rule, like free and > universal health and education. And if Cuban workers were to use the > opportunity of questioning the stifling hand of the bureaucracy in economic > planning by demanding workers' control of the economy and truly democratic > planning mechanisms, that too would give a mighty impetus to the global > revolution against the rule of capital. What is remarkable about your post > is that nowhere is there any acknowledgement of the agency of the working > class in Cuba - it is all about the bureaucracy, international capital and > the "entrepreneurial class" in Cuba. > > Unevenness and national isolation undermine international solidarity. The > return of Cuba to the world market is also the return of the Cuban working > class to the bosom of the global working class. Nationalism and Stalinism > are dead or mutating into fascistic forms. The only future for socialism is > with fresh and cosmopolitan layers of working class and other marginalised > social strata confronting the imperatives of globalised capital with our > own human and social imperatives. > > Biswadip Dasgupta > London > > > Sent from my Samsung Galaxy smartphone. > -------- Original message -------- > From: Charles McKelvey <[log in to unmask]> > Date: 28/03/2016 12:54 (GMT+00:00) > To: [log in to unmask] > Subject: The Obama plan for Cuba > > > During the visit of President Barack Obama to Cuba, the plans of the Obama > administration for Cuba became clear. The United States is seeking to > expand the Cuban class of small entrepreneurs, with the intention that the > merchant class will constitute itself as force for political change in Cuba. > With increasing ties to US capital, the emerging merchant class would > advocate less restrictions on foreign capital, which the Cuban socialist > state has developed in order to ensure that the country does not fall under > the control of foreign capital and that foreign investment does not have > negative social and environmental consequences for Cuba. > > The pretext for the US interventionist plan is support for democracy and > the protection of human rights. Obama maintains that Cubans should have > freedom of expression and freedom of religion, and that Cubans should be > able to choose their political leaders. Consistent with the general > tendency of the US political establishment, the Obama administration is > unable or unwilling to see that the Cuban system provides full protection > for political and civil rights in the context of alternative structures of > popular democracy, which are different from the structures of > representative democracy. The Cuban political culture has been formed by > popular movements in opposition to colonialism and neocolonialism since > 1868. > > Since December 17, 2014, the Obama administration has made changes in US > restrictions on trade and investment with respect to Cuba. These changes > benefit the Cuban entrepreneurial class. But restrictions on commerce > with Cuba that would have benefits for the Cuban state enterprises remain > for the most part in place. In addition, Obama has stated that > Congressional action to entirely eliminate the US blockade of Cuba would be > hastened by changes in Cuba with respect to democracy and human rights. Thus > the United States continues to pursue a strategy of economic sanctions and > economic coercion in order to promote changes in the Cuban political > system, which has been formed by the people in movement. > > The Obama plan for Cuba is in tension with the Cuban approach to the > normalization of relations. Cuba has called for “civilized coexistence,” > in which Cuba does not try to change the United States, and the United > States does not try to change Cuba, with full respect for the principle of > sovereignty. > > Please visit my blog posts on this theme: “Obama stresses human rights in > Cuba” 3/23/2016; “Obama seeks to expand Cuban middle class” 3/24/2016; > “Obama’s historic address to the Cuban people” 3/25/2016; “Cuban and US > economic perspectives” 3/26/2016; “A softer imperialism, not yet civilized” > 3/28/2016. They can be found at: > http://www.globallearning-cuba.com/blog-umlthe-view-from-the-southuml/category/cuba-today > . > > Charles McKelvey > Professor Emeritus > Presbyterian College > Clinton, South Carolina > > Section on Political Science from the South > Division of Philosophy and History > University of Havana > Havana, Cuba > > > > -- Prof. David Fasenfest Dept of Sociology Wayne State University Editor, *Critical Sociology * crs.sagepub.com follow us on Facebook http://www.facebook.com/pages/Critical-Sociology/109234272497897 follow us on Twitter: @critsoc Association for Critical Sociology website: *http://criticalsociology.org <http://criticalsociology.org>* Series Editor, *Studies in Critical Social Science* www.brill.nl/scss (Hardcover) www.haymarketbooks.org/category/scss-series (Paperback)