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Bases of the Socialist Economy
in Theory
The socialist society, according to the
Communist Party, has broken all bonds with the capitalist society of the
long ago and now forms the entryway to the communist society of the future.
From a theoretical point of view, I will initiate a summary analysis of the
Cuban socialist economy leading from elements that are genuinely Marxists,
of which the communists themselves do not tire of speaking about. It is best
to state that the following analysis will provide a revelation of the Cuban
economy like never shown before. I demand of the reader a greater attention
upon the same so that he or she can receive the message in its entirety.
In "The Capital," the German economist, Carl Marx divides the capitalist
society in two large opposite poles: on one side exists the bourgeois, the
absolute proprietors of production; on the other side there is the working
class that do not possess not much more than its productive capacity or
labor that is exchanged for a salary. Further, both poles then find each
other again in the buyer and seller markets. Why do they find themselves
again in a buyer and seller market? The answer lies ahead.
According to Marx, everything that is bought and sold is itself merchandise.
Every merchandise owes itself to comply with two functions that are
intrinsic, the first one is the value of use, the second is the value of
change. Merchandise that is not destined for use or for change by another is
then not considered merchandise. Therefore, in a capitalist society one does
not buy the laborer's work but the laborer's capacity, which establishes the
buyer and seller relationship. In other words, the bourgeois buys the
laborer's capacity with their money and the laborer then sells their labor
in return for a salary that will cover their basic needs, such as food,
clothing, transportation, housing, etc. This process of "buyer and seller"
shows that the labor force is actual merchandise that rests in the business
world of the capitalist system. According to Marx, the particularity that
possesses this merchandise and makes it different from the rest of the
merchandise is that by buying it, the production of other merchandise is
also being acquired with a greater amount of value.
Consequently, the capitalist production begins. The owner of the capital
extracts the money from his pocket and initiates the process of "buying and
selling cycle" of the working class. Once the merchandise production is
done, it will be packed and subsequently conducted to the markets where for
a higher price, the merchandise will be conveniently sold becoming a profit
for the capitalist. Once complied, this will begin the cycle that represents
capital:
(MONEY - MERCHANDISE - MONEY INCREASED) or "D - M - D". Said formula is what
Marx has called the exploitation of man by another man under the capitalist
regimen of production.
We go therefore to the Cuban reality.
In Cuba, the means of production instead of belonging to the capitalists,
belong to the State. Facing this, the working class is then dependent on a
salary provided by the state in exchange for their labor. This breaks
totally the myth of the Cuban government that proclaims that in Cuba the
economic power itself is in the hands of the workers. The power would never
be in the hands of those who receive a salary but in the hands of those who
pay it. This is a reality that can't be questioned.
In turn, the State responding to a cycle that represents the Capital (D - M
- D') buys the working capacity by means of a salary, similar to what occurs
in the capitalist society. Repeating the process, the final product is then
distributed in the market for a greater price, extracting finally the profit
(or capital) that would fortify its power in relation with the dispossessed
Cuban working class. A portion of that profit is used as necessary funds for
assisting the social services such as education and healthcare that will be
analyzed further ahead.
Then, what is the difference between the capitalist economy and the
socialist Cuba? The difference is that while in the capitalist economy the
worker reserves the option of changing employers whenever they want, and
have the opportunity to save money and become a capitalist some day; in
Cuba, the capital and the whole economy are centralized under the State,
personified by Fidel Castro, whereas the workers in the communist island are
then left to die as drones of the State and with no ambition to create their
own future capital.
After this exhaustive analysis, it might be prudent to remind a suggestion
that Carl Marx has left to the working class. In "The Capital"-Volume One,
Marx states: "He and the owner of money meet in the market, and deal with
each other as on the basis of equal rights, with this difference alone, that
one is buyer, the other seller; both, therefore, equal in the eyes of the
law. The continuance of this relation demands that the owner of the
labour-power should sell it only for a definite period, for if he were to
sell it rump and stump, once for all, he would be selling himself,
converting himself from a free man into a slave, from an owner of a
commodity into a commodity. He must constantly look upon his labour-power as
his own property, his own commodity, and this he can only do by placing it
at the disposal of the buyer temporarily, for a definite period of time. By
this means alone can he avoid renouncing his rights of ownership over it."
What do we have now?
Marx has said that the workers inside Cuba not only suffer the rigors of a
capitalist economy but also the burdens of slavery. The supposedly free of
charge services, such as healthcare and education offered to the people as a
consequence from the exploitation of the salaried masses, have a logical and
acceptable reason inside of this slavery situation that in the twentieth and
twentieth-first Century still rages the Cuban nation.
In the healthcare subject, a population that is physically healthy can yield
ten times what a weak and sick population would be able to yield in the same
work conditions. As far as education is concerned, instead of constituting a
sacrifice for the State, it would be the best answer to an economy that has
always tried to introduce the most advanced technology in the different
sectors of the economy through the elevation of the technical and cultural
level of the society and looking to achieve the so long wealth that its
rulers currently possess. Yes, Cuba is not only a capitalist state but also
a slavery regime. |
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INFOCUBA
