| Welcome to Shield Of Islam. We hope you enjoy your visit. You're currently viewing our forum as a guest. This means you are limited to certain areas of the board and there are some features you can't use. If you join our community, you'll be able to access member-only sections, and use many member-only features such as customizing your profile, sending personal messages, and voting in polls. Registration is simple, fast, and completely free. Join our community! If you're already a member please log in to your account to access all of our features: |
| No Need For Capitalism | |
|---|---|
| Tweet Topic Started: Aug 7 2006, 01:13 PM (84 Views) | |
| abuturab82 | Aug 7 2006, 01:13 PM Post #1 |
![]()
Administrator
![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]()
|
No need for capitalism Nation's planned economy has brought the small island immense prosperity, literacy and health care Aug. 7, 2006. 01:00 AM Fidel Castro's exit offers Cuba hope Editorial, Aug. 4. There are a great many journalists who are looking at Fidel Castro's illness as a hope for the Cuban people. The Star's editorial sums up with the line, "Cubans need to hear more about the benefits of multi-party democracy, human rights and the market economy." Certainly democracy and a greater degree of human rights are goals which Cubans should strive to achieve. However, I must ask why pundits seem to want to lump capitalism into that assessment, as if inseparable from democracy? And why they seem to selectively forget that Cuba's planned economy has brought the small, island nation immense prosperity, particularly when compared to similar nations in Latin American and the Caribbean. Caribbean nations of similar size and natural wealth, like Haiti or the Dominican Republic, which have taken a free market approach to development have built a record of poverty, inequality and political strife. Cuba, on the other hand, has a lower infant mortality rate and a higher literacy rate than even the United States or Canada, let alone her peers in the developing world. Cuba also has one of the highest doctor per-capita ratios in the world. There is no illiteracy or homelessness, something that only a precious few nations can boast. These benefits exist precisely because of the planned economy. Pundits suggest that democracy and socialism are mutually exclusive. If this is so, I would ask for a solid, factual and politically sound explanation as to why the bureaucracy that currently regulates the Cuban economy could not be replaced by an elected body? Wouldn't an economy controlled by a functional, accountable and profoundly democratic government be even more able to enact the popular will than a free market one? Capitalism has done few favours to the poor of the world; where is the evidence that it will start now? http://www.thestar.com/NASApp/cs/ContentSe...id=970599119419 |
![]() |
|
| NMM | Aug 7 2006, 10:08 PM Post #2 |
|
Newbie
![]() ![]() ![]()
|
Asalam Walaikum The article says Cuba's planned economy offers a better standard of living for its people then a free market economy. If this is so, why are so many Cubans found paddling off the coast of Florida to get to US shores? |
![]() |
|
| abuturab82 | Aug 8 2006, 09:40 AM Post #3 |
![]()
Administrator
![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]()
|
Well, I think planned economies benefit the average person by providing the basic needs such as public education, public medical and health services, etc. However, I don't think its as effective at creating wealth. Creating and sustaining growth is a very large challenge. For example, other countries in Latin America don't have a problem in creating wealth, but sustaining it. Many of these countries go through radical cycles of 'boom and bust' where they make extreme wealth in a short amount of time, but also extreme poverty. The great powers go through these cycles too, but its less noticeable because so many other economies are dependent on our own. Also, planned economies probably work better in smaller countries than large ones. When you are dealing with lesser population and fewer goods, its probably easier to do so. In terms of demographic movements; people could migrate for many reasons: better jobs, more opportunities, reuniting with families, etc. |
![]() |
|
| 1 user reading this topic (1 Guest and 0 Anonymous) | |
| « Previous Topic · Current Events · Next Topic » |






![]](http://z2.ifrm.com/static/1/pip_r.png)



9:25 AM Jul 11