Hello Marv: Well, I am by now well used to being interrogated by you! But I know from what non-sectarian spirit it comes. Moreover I have learnt that if you put your foot where your mouth is, you should justify it... If you see my limb-twisting analogy.
Regrettably I have not written up this material to make it coherent as a paper. However the best I can do right now - is to offer a form of an answer in slides, which themselves need to be amplified for the paper itself. They were done for a talk in 2023, but I confess a further literature search has not been done since then. I was also missing a few key references that I still have not dug out. Anyway..... Hence to address part of your query, I attempt a small answer via the slides - which are at: https://docs.google.com/presentation/d/1KmYfAr9pWIe_zlQMmr1gSXWHNSMwT3601-o7m4drb_M/edit?usp=sharing On Slide 4 I note: "31 Dec1958: Batista flees to the Dominican Republic, Madeira May 1959: Agrarian Reform: about 58%; By 1963 70% land->State 1959: Industrial nationalisation x 3 decrees; + one 1961 1961-1963 : By 1963 85% industry in State hands" Thus right through, as far as I can tell anyway - not all the bourgeoisie were expropriated. This you might agree would likely carry consequences. [A referencing of selected titles reviewed for this is on Slide 34. Some other articles in the academy were also reviewed, but are not listed here]. I believe that Che whilst heading up the Finance Ministry wanted to go further ( Slide 13 ). But he was hampered by several matters: i) As most national bourgeoisie after the 1900 dateline found - simply had not enough money to develop their "own" national industry and ensure agriculture was on an adequate socialist footing. ii) He was confused on issues as basic as what is socialism? he misconstrues Khruschev as a socialist offering 'socialist trade'. He argues: (Slide 15) " We must change our entire system of production to adapt it to those countries that supply us with raw materials and spare parts” (Guevara, in: Boris Goldenberg; p. 20). Castro agrees: "Castro announced a reorientation of the Cuban economy towards agriculture, in particular the growing of sugar cane and cattle-raising". ('Keesing's Contemporary Archives", Vol 18; p. 24,524). iii) Guevera was confused on the character of the Soviet state from NEP through to Khruschev meanings of the law of value and rather over-banked on revolutionary optimism (See slide 16 to slide 20 I have a lot of sympathy with Guevera. He was trying hard. But he landed in the same place as so many struggling national bourgeoisie do - in hock to an external power. Who? The revisionist USSR. Now a social-imperialist state under Khruschev. Why did he land there? There was no MList party. And he believed the peasantry was the pivot of power - Not the workers. The Great Debate in Cuba on the Law of value further confused matters, and frankly - neither did Charles Bettleheim nor Ernst Mandel helped. (Slide 20). Che is basically told to leave the Ministry, he does - and goes to Bolivia. Meanwhile Castro digs in deeper with Soviet imperialism. Having himself approached the USA and been spurned. USA surrounds/blockades Cuba and after the mIssile Crisis, USSR revisionism finally falls. The USSR dissolved. Castro ends up wooing companies into Cuba. ( Slide 23 ). Graphs from Emily Morris convincingly show that by 2012 Castro has led the country into a state of further dependency (See graph Slide 24). Now Marv - I realise the above is disjointed, but there is a referencing that supports this viewpoint. It is on some of the slides, but it does need to be written up. I shall try to do that. (When....?! Oh woe - perhaps in about 3-4 months. I usually manage to catch up around Xmas when much slows down). Sorry I am not giving a flowing text, but I think you can see my drift. You also ask a more specific query, which I try to address in next message. Be well, H -=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=- Groups.io Links: You receive all messages sent to this group. View/Reply Online (#31364): https://groups.io/g/marxmail/message/31364 Mute This Topic: https://groups.io/mt/107582765/21656 -=-=- POSTING RULES & NOTES #1 YOU MUST clip all extraneous text when replying to a message. #2 This mail-list, like most, is publicly & permanently archived. #3 Subscribe and post under an alias if #2 is a concern. #4 Do not exceed five posts a day. -=-=- Group Owner: [email protected] Unsubscribe: https://groups.io/g/marxmail/leave/8674936/21656/1316126222/xyzzy [[email protected]] -=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-
