Asked in an exclusive NBC News interview about the recent protests, President Miguel Díaz-Canel lashed out at the U.S. embargo and said they were made to look like "serious events."
If their production methods are so superior why can’t they produce enough food for their own people? Shortages of manufactured goods I can understand—many require skilled labor or high-tech industries, or rare metals that may not be available on the island. But surely they should be able to grow food with this superior system. All that takes is seeds, soil, and sun.
For the record I agree that capitalists running the economy and treating everyone like slaves is bad. But it doesn’t then follow that the Cuban model is automatically better.
The “Cuban model” has worked well considering the decades-long embargo it has placed on a country that hasn’t been a material threat to the US since the Cuban missile crisis.
That being said, a modern economy simply cannot function without international trade: what of things like medical supplies that require metals and chemicals only found in some countries? What about fuel? What about semiconductors?
Not only that, but Cuba has to pay a LOT more than other countries to access those basic necessities of modern living, because the US embargo essentially bans OTHER countries from trading with the US if they dare to dock with Cuba first.
Yes, the embargo is harmful but that’s not what I’m curious about.
That’s why I asked specifically about agriculture. There are plenty of examples of people sustaining their own food needs with minimal technology. Without industrial equipment or inputs, there may be a need for more human labor but it should still be doable.
My sense is that the embargo provides a convenient excuse to blame external conditions for the failings of a flawed, authoritarian production model. But I am really not very knowledgeable about Cuba so I am open to being convinced.
If their production methods are so superior why can’t they produce enough food for their own people? Shortages of manufactured goods I can understand—many require skilled labor or high-tech industries, or rare metals that may not be available on the island. But surely they should be able to grow food with this superior system. All that takes is seeds, soil, and sun.
For the record I agree that capitalists running the economy and treating everyone like slaves is bad. But it doesn’t then follow that the Cuban model is automatically better.
The “Cuban model” has worked well considering the decades-long embargo it has placed on a country that hasn’t been a material threat to the US since the Cuban missile crisis.
That being said, a modern economy simply cannot function without international trade: what of things like medical supplies that require metals and chemicals only found in some countries? What about fuel? What about semiconductors?
Not only that, but Cuba has to pay a LOT more than other countries to access those basic necessities of modern living, because the US embargo essentially bans OTHER countries from trading with the US if they dare to dock with Cuba first.
Yes, the embargo is harmful but that’s not what I’m curious about.
That’s why I asked specifically about agriculture. There are plenty of examples of people sustaining their own food needs with minimal technology. Without industrial equipment or inputs, there may be a need for more human labor but it should still be doable.
My sense is that the embargo provides a convenient excuse to blame external conditions for the failings of a flawed, authoritarian production model. But I am really not very knowledgeable about Cuba so I am open to being convinced.