Democrats need to hear the needs of society so that autocrats are not condoned
Support for Cuba is also a reaction against the failure of the market economy’s champions to take poverty and inequality seriously, writes Steven Friedman
Balance is not much valued in political debate here, as reaction to the passing of Cuban revolutionary Fidel Castro shows. There is no middle ground in attitudes to Castro’s passing. To one side of the argument, he was a hero who faced down US bullying, offered priceless help to Africa and built a society in which human welfare was placed above profit. To the other, he was a ruthless dictator intent on exporting revolution, whose economics condemned Cuba to poverty. Questioning the first account makes you a bigoted reactionary, questioning the second brands you an enemy of freedom. But a balanced account of Castro’s Cuba is needed because it sends an important message to this country and the world. Castro’s Cuba is not a democracy. All parties are banned except the Communist Party; freedom of speech is suppressed (although there has been some relaxation in the past few years); government opponents, human rights organisations say, are tortured, jailed without trial and convicted by r...
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