Cuba Approaching Venezuelan Socialism, affirms Chávez
HAVANA TIMES, Sept. 25 — The opening to the private sector in Cuba, with the authorization of greater possibilities for self-employment, is approaching the island to the socialist model Venezuela is building, Hugo Chávez, president of the South American country, affirmed. Chávez rejected that he was copying what the opposition calls “Cuban communism,” reported IPS.
Well, Venezuelan so-called socialism is not really socialism. It is more a European-style democratic capitalism. If this is where Cuba is heading, I guess that’s okay, but it’s a long way from authentic socialism.
There are two general forms of socialism where a transformational political party has state power: (1) state monopoly (Marxian); and (2) state participatory (modern cooperative). Cuba has the first form and it doesn’t work well. It’s time for Cuba to progress to a cooperative republic.
Under such a republic private property and the market can be utilized for building real socialism. Real socialism is where those who work own their means of production directly, usually cooperatively.
If Hugo Chavez knew what socialism really is, he would not be keeping a class of capitalists in positions of ownership of most of the economy. We love Hugo but theoretically he’s in a fog.