The Spider Weaves at an Unspectacular Pace

Erasmo Calzadilla

HAVANA TIMES — This post is motivated by a recent article in which Samuel Farber says the single-party system is the main obstacle to the genuine democratization of Cuban society.

In essence, I don’t agree with the central thesis of his article, however Farber himself provides another approach to understanding the issue.

He writes:

“For those of us who support the establishment of a self-managed socialism, it is necessary to clearly understand that the political monopoly of the Cuban Communist Party is not going to be abolished automatically, and that only a democratic movement from below can achieve that goal.

“Worker self-management requires a degree of motivation and involvement on the part of urban and rural workers that does not exist in a society whose dire economic situation has strengthened the spirit of “resolver” (to solve basic needs) – including the wish to emigrate – thus creating powerful incentives for the efforts of the individual on behalf of herself and her family, but not on behalf of the collectivity as such.”

The biggest problem I see in the bulk of the proposals for change inspired from the left is that the social beings capable of implementing them still haven’t been born. There will always be crazy activists willing to found a socialist cooperative or sacrifice themselves in battling the single-party system, but up until now that vanguard bloc has not materialized.

It’s not that the bases exist but that they’re immature, unorganized and fighting between themselves. No – it’s that they simply don’t exist. This was already said by Farber himself.

Viewed in this manner, the matter takes on a socio-cultural or anthropological perspective, and the issue of a single party as the main obstacle to the advent of democracy starts to lose its luster, fade and dissolve.

Reasoning would suggest that with the monopoly of the PCC eliminated and a “free market” installed, this would be a breeding ground for the outbreak of a social movement or a workers’ movement from below.

It’s clear that this is demented reasoning, because who right now is going to bring down the super-powerful monopoly of the PCC? Perhaps another exile invasion orchestrated by the CIA? Or perhaps those same social bases that require the collapse of the PCC-cracy in order to be born?

This is why I think, for now, that the job must be done slowly, from below. Not to create leftists or “new men” or underground cells, but to help with the emergence of a strong social, economic and cultural fabric, preferably independent of other monopolies that are worse than the PCC.

From this point of view, it could be that those who are the most revolutionary force right now are the self-employed workers.

In another post I said this is the work of an ant, but now I think it’s that of a spider. Spiders are averse to the totalitarianism of the ant colony and they like loneliness, yet their intersecting webs cover the entire forest.

Or we could also say that this work is that of a tree, in the sense of growing slowly, sinking roots that are interwoven with other beings, and establishing alliances with all the other creatures that live in the forest…with all those other creatures, except the one that wields a chainsaw.

If on some warm spring night we were to engage in the heroic storming of the Bastille (the Central Committee), with some courageous lady encouraging us valiant adversaries, another monopoly would take its place the next morning.

That’s how I look at it.