Marxism, Just Another Word For Poverty

Karl Marx has indigestion; Cuba has just announced the imposition of private property rights and a citizen’s right to sell and buy real estate.

Fidel and Raul Castro have maintained the most classical example of Marxism in the world for over 50 years: consequently, the Cuban people live in abject poverty under totalitarian rule, while their leaders enjoy wealth, opulence, and outrageous personal economic portfolios so typical of iron fisted thugs ruling over a Socialist dystopia.

Raul Castro, brother of Fidel, is the strongman of Cuba, ever since his brother went into semi-retirement, due to failing health. Raul has just opened up the small island country to its first glimpse of private property and a market economy since the revolution. This latest move offers a degree of hope to the poverty stricken people of Cuba, who hope to reshape and modernize this country that has suffered such tremendous hardship and poverty under Socialism.

The law becomes effective on November 10, it will allow Cubans to set their own prices and to move at their own discretion. These are major deviations from the strict Socialism that the dilettantes of the OWS movement are pleading for, while they take time out from their expensive educations, preparing for degrees that should be considered hobbies rather than career enhancements. How ironic, Cubans are celebrating their first glimpse of a free market and a free society, the very thing the OWS crowd wants to throw away in their hunger for Wealth Redistribution. Cubans have another disadvantage over the OWS Mob: no one remembers who actually owns anything or the procedures for selling or buying real estate.

There will still be strong vestiges of central control. Financing must go through Cuba’s Central Bank, there will be fees charged, fees that are yet to be determined, and there will be an 8% tax to be split equally between the seller and buyer. A move that will reassure the Socialist hearts of our own leaders. Cubans will be limited to two homes; this rule does not apply to dictators, the Castro brothers already own multiple dwellings. Obama will surely be relieved to hear that the rules don’t apply to dictators.

The earlier freedoms of opening a small business and private agriculture failed to invigorate the Cuba’s comatose economy. Some economists attribute this to a lack of capital and poor central planning; however, people who have been born under the iron fist of Marxism with state control of every facet of their life are probably fearful that success will eventually be punished and appropriated by the state. There is also the natural psychological fear of a repressive state for the entrepreneur; why should he risk his personal capital, while living in fear of a totalitarian state that can regulate your business out of existence.

Obama is perplexed by American capitalists and their reluctance to start or expand their business holdings; yet, he has forgotten about liquidating the General Motors dealerships that were not contributors to his campaign.

The Cuban economy will be slow to start, for the same reason the American economy refuses to start, the people with the capital to invest, just don’t trust the overbearing leadership.