Socialism can never provide for the people
AS SOCIALIST dictatorial regimes go, Cuba has been relatively benign historically.
Hispanic culture, colour, noise, sensual music, picturesque buildings, side-streets and plazas suffocate your senses beautifully.
However, prosaic domestic observations reveal a different story and five brief examples from my 2019 visit will suffice.
Firstly, a delightful daily coconut stall on Calle Obispo for a refreshing and nutritious midmorning drink was a daily call until the third day when some state civil servant forgot to allocate them from local trees; the ham and mushroom pizza at night, without mushrooms (yes, Mr State Mushroom Buyer had his Fawlty Towers moment too); the chemist in Old Havana (Cuba’s Whitehall) which smelt of Orwellian boiled cabbage and where choice and quantity were inadequate to serve the local population; a desperate young woman selling a dozen eggs on a street corner in Old Havana; families selling goods from their lounge windows.
Socialism is the failed idea that has never died, to some dreamers, as left-leaning thinkers still believe that the state can own, control and allocate resources to its citizens via a sophisticated civil service logistical operation.
When Covid hit, tourism plummeted in Cuba and this is the industry that the Cuban state targeted and prioritised for its economic development.
The consequent goods and services shortages led to severe scarcity and prices rose significantly.
Left-leaners blame US sanctions but, in a failed and dysfunctional Cuban system, only dynamic and resourceful entrepreneurs, with good local knowledge and free to act in private markets, can react to profit incentives and so satisfy the needs and wants of the Cuban people.
Adam Smith’s “invisible hand” of the market will prove mutually beneficial to entrepreneurs and consumers alike, if only the state had the will to perform a U-turn in ideology.
Only then can you guarantee a consistent supply of coconuts, mushrooms, eggs and eyeliner.
Ian Roblin Llanishen, Cardiff