Thursday, September 9, 2010

Fidel Castro finally figures it out

Fidel Castro now says that (after decades of glorious success) his unique brand of Socialism isn't getting it done any longer:

Jeffrey Goldberg, a writer for the Atlantic Monthly magazine, wrote in a blog that he asked Castro, 84, if Cuba's model -- Soviet-style communism -- was still worth exporting to other countries and he replied, "The Cuban model doesn't even work for us anymore."


As Stephen Smith pointed out somewhere or another, "the words 'still' and 'anymore' in the question and the answer imply that there was once a time where the Cuba/Soviet scheme was succesful".  Not his exact words, but you get the idea. 
The comment appeared to reflect Castro's agreement, which he also expressed in a column for Cuban media in April, with his younger brother President Raul Castro, who has initiated modest reforms to stimulate Cuba's troubled economy.

What is it with all these collectivists who are having such a hard time stimulating their economies? 

Goldberg said Julia Sweig, a Cuba expert at the Council on Foreign Relations think tank in Washington who accompanied him to Havana, believed Castro's words reflected an acknowledgment that "the state has too big a role in the economic life of the country."

It has taken Fidel more than 50 years in power to figure that out.  Obama will only be president for 2 and a half more years.  Castro (and this isn't saying much) is a lot smarter than Barack Obama.  Therefore, we are doomed. 

Readers who like my schtick will possibly like this earlier posting about Castro stepping down as CEO of Cuba, Inc.

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

Castro now says he was "misinterpreted." Although he said the Cuban model "no longer" works for Cuba, what he really meant was capitalism doesn't work.

The reporter should have listened to the thoughts in Castro's head, rather than the words coming out of Castro's mouth.