: Time for my ritualistic defence of Cuba;Ooooh, look at the black robes, I hope that incense is fresh etc. I'd say defense of cuba is tired not ritualistic friend.
I was talking about dictatorship in general not specifically Cuba, Cuba is an example of benevolence but hey Castro's successor might choose to be not so benevolent and what'd happen then?
: 1) Cuba may not be a real democracy. But it is not a dictatorship, because it doesn't have a dictator. China had Mao, Russia had Stalin, Iraq has Saddam, but the leadership in Cuba is collective rather than one-man. They don't ahve purges of government leaders as they ahd in China, Russia, etc.
Come on man, it's a system of centralised authority which is hardly insinct with socialism, not revolutionary libertarian socialism anyway.
: 2) The government of Cuba is overtwhelmingly supported by the people. They have the option of truning in spoiled ballots in the elections to express dissatisfaction, and some do. But the fact that most don't illustrates taht Cubans like their government.
Well I'd avoid that popular dictators argument altogether firend, I mean if it's so popular why dont they introduce representative democracy straight away? (I'm against that I might add they should go straight to federation of communes mode if you ask me or at least Yugoslavian revisionist republic mode) Plus I can just here Gee and co. rumbling with the Hitler got 99% of the vote type responses.
: 3) Cuba has a measure of participatory democracy in that people's input is tken into account in making decisions.
True, true but then every nation has a measure of participatory democracy. The facts are that the government under socialism, if it's going to be anything other than a benevolent form of nationalism, should be slim and starved without an army or bureacracy and preferably without a party or dogma/orthodoxy. That way the majority of people HAVE TO WORK EG they cant escape into the upper ecolones of government the way they used to with business.
While the state or business practice or management provide an alternative working then people will escape there and the position of the workers while improving wont be the best.
: 4)Cuba's free speech record has markedly improved in recent years, revisionist communsim is now legal over there.
Yeah but I prefer critical support to praise there.
: 5) Cuba has never had death squads, genocide, etc. unliek otehr Latin American countries.
It has an army and secret police though doesnt it?
: 6) On the question of libertarianism, did you knoa that Cuba has no laws agaisnt homosexuality, whereas many American states do?
Yeah but can you imagine Cuba with it's latino machoism being a haven for homosexuality?
: 7) Castro has killed an absolute MAXIMUM of 12,000 people in 40 years, while his right-wing predecessor killed 20,000 in seven years.
I remmeber that figure I've employed it myself but then murder is murder it might be excusable during a wrestling match for power but afterwards executes are just the same as capital punishment anywhere.
