http://www.havanatimes.org/?p=91579 Cuba and the BRICSApril 19, 2013 | |
*We are spoon-fed an unorthodox view of economic success and apocalyptic visions on a daily basis.* *Vicente Morin Aguado* [image: Los BRICS. Foto: etceter.com]<http://www.havanatimes.org/?attachment_id=91580> Los BRICS. Foto: etceter.com HAVANA TIMES — As I recall, one of the important issues addressed during the exchanges between Humberto Eco<http://www.havanatimes.org/en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Umberto_Eco> andCardinal Martini<http://www.havanatimes.org/en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carlo_Maria_Martini> was that of the apocalyptic vision of the world, a vision shared by many old-school communist leaders, not too dissimilar, in its function, to the fear of God we would instill in children decades ago, when the Catholic Church still reigned in many parts of the globe. The Catholics, having grown tired of repeating their dark admonitions, have forgotten the whole affair, but the Marxists have not, invoking the global economic crisis, the “hard times” that Spain is going through and, most insistently, the dangers of climate change. Though the State’s and society’s responsibility for environmental problems cannot be denied, we mustn’t forget that global warming and cooling processes were taking place on earth millions of years before human civilization even emerged. Let us now focus on Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa (the BRICS), a short list of countries that could include others and would present around half of the world’s population as engaged in authentic and sustained development, a group of countries that would represent one fourth of the globe’s energy resources, the same portion of the earth’s surface and a bit more of its total, yearly production. In Cuba, the BRICS are presented to us as an alternative to the hegemony of the United States and its Western European allies. While this may well be a valid contrast, we must look behind such apparently simple remarks, for they point to the fact that half of humanity has undertaken a form of development that was in no way foreseen by the communists who steered the educational system and ideology in my country for many years. [image: Image: postwesternworld.com]<http://www.havanatimes.org/?attachment_id=91581> Image: postwesternworld.com If we were to take official Cuban textbooks at their word, we would have to conclude that Russia is in dire straits today, that the market economy is a devastating attack on Che Guevara’s socialist ideas and that representative democracy is an inadmissible compromise, even for Cuba’s current leadership. I need not remind readers that those are the developmental principles of the BRICS, and of other, economically less significant countries that maintain relations with them. This begs the question: Are we approaching the end of the world, or do we have other options? If half of the world’s population is experiencing a rapid pace of development on the basis of center-Left policies that preserve State control over a nation’s primary resources, then it looks as though such policies are a true alternative to the old, failed Communist model, without going the neo-liberal route. Russia emerged from History’s first triumphal socialist revolution, betrayed in both form and content by Stalin. China put Mao’s radical adventures behind it. India has a constitution which respectfully includes the word “socialism”. South Africa did away with the opprobrious apartheid regime. Brazil has put long years of a typical Latin American dictatorship behind it. We can add Venezuela, Argentina, Ecuador, Egypt, South Korea, Taiwan and others to the list. The length of the list tells us that there are other roads to development that do not necessarily throw social justice out the window. The world isn’t coming to an end. If it does end, it won’t be because of today’s capitalism, much less because of frustrated socialists who announce the Apocalypse, having never truly understood the biblical message. The BRICS demonstrate that there are other ways open to us, revealing how blinkered some, perhaps too many, old-school communists are. It’s a question of “changing everything that ought to be changed.” —– *Vicente Morín Aguado: morfam...@correodecuba.cu* - Cort Greene <http://www.havanatimes.org/?p=91579#> • a few seconds ago<http://www.havanatimes.org/?p=91579#comment-870942873> - <http://www.havanatimes.org/?p=91579#> - ** <http://www.havanatimes.org/?p=91579#> The BRICS are a creation of Goldman Sachs, are capitalists and imperialists in and of themselves and still serve the interests of the US, IMF, World Bank and are agents of the global imperialist overlords but portray themselves as a benign trading bloc simply trying to help themselves and their neighbors grow economically while they ravage the planet for big business. Beware anyone working with them and I suggest y'all go back to reading Lenin's and Rosa Luxemburg's works on Imperialism and also watch and read below these. Cort Patrick Bond on the BRICS Summit in Durban http://www.youtube.com/watch?v...<http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z3oZ36kPuKo> ------------------------------------------------------------------- BRICS: ‘Anti-imperialist’ or ‘sub-imperialist’? http://links.org.au/node/3265 Bankrupt Africa: Imperialism, Sub-Imperialism and the Politics of Finance http://ccs.ukzn.ac.za/files/Bo...<http://ccs.ukzn.ac.za/files/Bond%20Bankrupt%20Africa%20historical%20materialism.pdf> - - 0 ** <http://www.havanatimes.org/?p=91579#> **<http://www.havanatimes.org/?p=91579#> - • - Edit <http://www.havanatimes.org/?p=91579#> - • - Reply <http://www.havanatimes.org/?p=91579#> - • - Share › - <http://www.havanatimes.org/?p=91579#> - <http://www.havanatimes.org/?p=91579#> - <http://www.havanatimes.org/?p=91579#comment-870942873> - [image: Avatar] Hubert Gieschen • 18 hours ago<http://www.havanatimes.org/?p=91579#comment-870037109> - <http://www.havanatimes.org/?p=91579#> - ** <http://www.havanatimes.org/?p=91579#> Grady, are you serious, when you are saying the centre of gravity is moving towards Iran? That will be news to many people in Iran suffering from economic mismanagement. - - 0 ** <http://www.havanatimes.org/?p=91579#> **<http://www.havanatimes.org/?p=91579#> - • - Reply <http://www.havanatimes.org/?p=91579#> - • - Share › - <http://www.havanatimes.org/?p=91579#> - <http://www.havanatimes.org/?p=91579#> - <http://www.havanatimes.org/?p=91579#comment-870037109> - [image: Avatar] <http://www.havanatimes.org/?p=91579#> Friedrich Joestl <http://www.havanatimes.org/?p=91579#> • a day ago<http://www.havanatimes.org/?p=91579#comment-868912201> - <http://www.havanatimes.org/?p=91579#> - ** <http://www.havanatimes.org/?p=91579#> Small little question: how big is social justice in Russia? In Taiwan? In South Corea?Egypt? At the end, what all this would be leading to a leftist social democracy, which might be a viable alternative to state monopoly. Here I`d like to point out my own country of origin, Austria, which has learned through the civil war, the Nazi period, liberation and then 10 years of occupation, that a strongly state controlled economy was possible ( although the first post war governments were conservative). Lots of socialist elements ( Austro- Marxism was one of the big European schools, although called revisionist by Lenin, a strongly left winged movement, but opposed to the dictatorship of the proletariat and also allowing privat economy) are reflected within the constitution and also the laws. Socialist ideas found entrance in the countrie`s politics ( Austrias biggest political party is still the socialist one) among others in subsidised housing ( Vienna still is famous for its social housing program of the 20 and 30ie, also called the architecture of Red Vienna and alltogether these and more strongly socialist elements show an extremely positive result: Right at the moment economy n.o 1 in the EU, lowest unemployment rate ( around 4,5% although tendency increasing,high social standards, being considered as one of the safest countries also for foreign investment due to its high educational and professional level and political stability after world war 2.A very big role plays the so called social pact between the workers movements and the employers - one the one hand the Chamber of Commerce and Industry and at the other hand the (socialist dominated) Unions and the Chamber for Workers and Employes. The purpose above all is, in case of conflicts find solucions through negociations and avoid similar situations as in the 30ies, which led to the civil war, the rise of Austro Fascism ( like Franco, and Mussolini, very nationalist and anti- German) and at the due to those conflicts to the take over by the Nazis. They also have an important advising role within the legislation, before laws pass through the National and Federal Assemblee ( the parliament). It just occurred to me, when reading this article, that Cuba on a long term might go a similar way. Of course in its own way, as conditions are different. see more <http://www.havanatimes.org/?p=91579#> - - 0 ** <http://www.havanatimes.org/?p=91579#> **<http://www.havanatimes.org/?p=91579#> - • - Reply <http://www.havanatimes.org/?p=91579#> - • - Share › - <http://www.havanatimes.org/?p=91579#> - <http://www.havanatimes.org/?p=91579#> - <http://www.havanatimes.org/?p=91579#comment-868912201> - [image: Avatar] Grady Ross Daugherty • 2 days ago<http://www.havanatimes.org/?p=91579#comment-868638355> - <http://www.havanatimes.org/?p=91579#> - ** <http://www.havanatimes.org/?p=91579#> I like Vicente's open-minded article very much. It seems clear that the center of gravity in world affairs is shifting rapidly (to China, Russia, India, Korea, Japan, and Iran, with South Africa and Brazil standing like footholds in two other continents). These BRICS-ist states seem ready to replace US/EU hegemony fairly soon. Unfortunately, the US people have not gotten the memo. They still believe the mass media and major parties that none of this is happening ("all the better to delude you with, my dears," sayeth the big bad wolf). I do wish that Vicente could have addressed the struggle for "credit hegemony" that is going on worldwide between the monopoly banks of the US/EU, on the one side, and the so-called "sovereign accounts" of some of the BRICSs, on the other. This is the important, not-always-visible battle that is going on behind the establishment's pundits' highly-prejudiced backs. It deserves to be addressed in HT by someone competent, for it pretty well controls or conditions everything. - - 0 ** <http://www.havanatimes.org/?p=91579#> **<http://www.havanatimes.org/?p=91579#> - • - Reply <http://www.havanatimes.org/?p=91579#> - • - Share › - <http://www.havanatimes.org/?p=91579#> - <http://www.havanatimes.org/?p=91579#> - <http://www.havanatimes.org/?p=91579#comment-868638355> - [image: Avatar] Friendster • 2 days ago<http://www.havanatimes.org/?p=91579#comment-868610002> - <http://www.havanatimes.org/?p=91579#> - ** <http://www.havanatimes.org/?p=91579#> South Africa, the odd man out. Not in the same class or level as the others economically, politically. - - 0 ** <http://www.havanatimes.org/?p=91579#> **<http://www.havanatimes.org/?p=91579#> - • - Reply <http://www.havanatimes.org/?p=91579#> - • - Share › - <http://www.havanatimes.org/?p=91579#> - <http://www.havanatimes.org/?p=91579#> - <http://www.havanatimes.org/?p=91579#comment-868610002> - [image: Avatar] <http://www.havanatimes.org/?p=91579#> Moses Patterson <http://www.havanatimes.org/?p=91579#> • 2 days ago<http://www.havanatimes.org/?p=91579#comment-868531288> - <http://www.havanatimes.org/?p=91579#> - ** <http://www.havanatimes.org/?p=91579#> In capitalists countries and especially those BRICS countries (especially China), privately-owned companies do business, not governments. OK, as a market participant, governments themselves act as buyers and sellers to a lesser extent but the majority of commerce is non-governmental. As long as the US embargo is in place, Cuba's capacity to buy and sell and receive credit internationally will be hindered as most private companies will choose to avoid the loss of the US market in order to do business with Cuba. Cuba should focus on making those changes required to trigger the lifting of the embargo before imagining full integration in world commerce, let alone with BRICS countries. - - 0 ** <http://www.havanatimes.org/?p=91579#> **<http://www.havanatimes.org/?p=91579#> - • - Reply <http://www.havanatimes.org/?p=91579#> - • - Share › - <http://www.havanatimes.org/?p=91579#> - <http://www.havanatimes.org/?p=91579#> - <http://www.havanatimes.org/?p=91579#comment-868531288> - [image: Avatar] Gordon Robinson • 2 days ago<http://www.havanatimes.org/?p=91579#comment-868437747> - <http://www.havanatimes.org/?p=91579#> - ** <http://www.havanatimes.org/?p=91579#> Canada is certainly looking to do more business with the BRICS. Cuba has a huge advantage over Canada. Medium age in Canada 41 - medium age Cuba 31. Gordon Robinson abu...@yahoo.ca - - 0 ** <http://www.havanatimes.org/?p=91579#> **<http://www.havanatimes.org/?p=91579#> - • - Reply <http://www.havanatimes.org/?p=91579#> - • - Share › - <http://www.havanatimes.org/?p=91579#> - <http://www.havanatimes.org/?p=91579#> - <http://www.havanatimes.org/?p=91579#comment-868437747> - [image: Avatar] <http://www.havanatimes.org/?p=91579#> Moses Patterson <http://www.havanatimes.org/?p=91579#> ** Gordon Robinson <http://www.havanatimes.org/?p=91579#comment-868437747> • 2 days ago <http://www.havanatimes.org/?p=91579#comment-868521278> - <http://www.havanatimes.org/?p=91579#> - ** <http://www.havanatimes.org/?p=91579#> If what you meant was "median age" then Canada is 40.7 and Cuba is 37.8 years according to Wikipedia http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/L...<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_countries_by_median_age> . A difference of less than three years. If you factor in all the other disadvantages that Cuba bears, how is that an advantage, let alone a huge one? 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