Castro’s Cuba was no place for a socialist like me

rich

If you wanted free medical care why did you not insist in going to a local hospital or medical clinic? Oh no, that would have involved leaving your hotel and walking those terrible streets. You might even have to have spoken Spanish!!!!

Once again

Health Tip: trigger a synapse which might still have a possibility of activating itself under that dung pile of Paleo unreconstructed lefty red cell matter. Turn it to the centre and when you're done there, see if you can aim another one more or less to the right. You'll feel a whole lot less contaminated, see fewer imbecilic heros and you might be allowed out for 24 hours.

Cuffleyburgers

A refreshingly honest report of the inevitable consequences of socialism put into practice. Luckily the Castros here get kicked out eventually so we never quite sink that low, but Labour have done jolly well in their ten years. And under Mr Brown progress has speeded up notably.

dougs

Of course this is interesting, but any Speccie reader already knew all this. We really don't need the wide-eyed enlightenment of this leftie, um, what, less than a year ago. And what did he believe before then, and to what extent, rhetorically or otherwise, did Mr. Clark do to support Castro and his ilk? People like him prop up these regimes. We're also told he's an old fashioned lefty, clause four and all that. Sir, do you not realize that's part and parcel of the socialist nonsense that has left Cuba in such a tragic state? It is only "do-able" in a place like Britain, because there are resources/assets (created under capitalism) that are yet to be wasted by you and your socialist friends. This kind of ignorance/innocence and the self-love behind it are sickening, really. Spectator: don't hand money to people like this Clark!

David Lindsay

As I sometimes have cause to tell people, if I wanted a government which persecuted those who engage in homosexual acts, then I'd move to Cuba. The American blockade has won the Cuban regime the sympathy of huge numbers of people who should know better. Since there is both a Santiago de Chile and a Santiago de Cuba, I propose the Santiago Test: however you reacted to the death of Pinochet, then that is how you should react to the clearly impending death of Castro. Watch out for the people who don't pass the Santiago Test.

Al Frick

It the world were left up to naive lefties, we'd have nothing but mudhuts in the world, just like in Cuba. Where in the world has socialism or communism ever flourished and contributed to the world? Here's a brilliant article in defense of capitalism: http://www.cis.org.au/Policy/summer%2007-08/saunders_summer07.html

De omnibus dubitandum

I do wish someone would disabuse Britain's trade union leadership of their ongoing infatuation with Castro and all things Cuban. Still, I suppose it could we should be grateful for small mercies: at least they have finally given up extolling the joys of being a member of the North Korean proletariat!

Kiffa

If anyone if interested in how dangerous as well as tiresome wide-eyed lefties such as Mr Clark and his wife are (as well as the truly disproportionate influence they wield)I recommend: The Vision of the Anointed (Self-congratulation as a basis for Social Policy) by Thomas Sowell. He empirically measures the disastrous results of lefty policies (crime, welfare, 'the war on poverty', 'sex education' etc.) and asserts that their refusal to accept that their superior vision is wrong, is sleepwalking our society to disaster. And this book was written before 'celebrating multiculturalism'!

scallywag

The last time I was in South America I had the misfortune of having two guns put at the back of my head. My initial response 'how dare the savages, who the hell do they think they are.' My advice to Mr.Clark, would not to take all of this too personally, after all it's an uncivil society on the outside and an uncivil one on the inside, at least in the western world we feign outward civility. So please Mr. Clarke if you value your life and your sanity next time you have the unfortunate business of being 'stuck up,' please give them your money. An then at least you can walk away with your perceived integrity intact. But really what type of utopia were you looking for in a distraught marginalized third world nation anyway?

Laurie Macdonell-Sanchez

Mr. Clark's apologia gives me hope for the rehabilitation of the rest of the leftist liberal intelligentsia of the West. Until I read an excellent Spectator article explaining the phenomenon, I wondered how so many intelligent, educated, and on any other subject, rational, people can remain deaf, dumb & blind to the evils of socialism/communism & their latest adjunct, islamo-terrorism. Clark's article, which echoes my e-mail comments to Mayor Livingstone when he announced in '05 he'd be hosting a visit by Fidel, is a wake-up call to which Clark's leftist cronies will listen. It's also critical that conservatives know just how prevalent the leftist orientation still is in the West. Despite the realities of terrorism,leftist-liberals refuse to part w/their misconceived "ideals," then act on them @ the polls. This is especially true among today's undereducated youth, who are easily misled, their idealism & lives squandered in the process.

Herbert Thornton

I think it's a bit unfair to abuse Neil for having the honesty to acknowledge that despite his being a leftist, he found Cuba to be a hell-hole. What do the other lefties want him to do? Keep quiet about it?

My only criticism of his article is that I wish he hadn't written -

"The heartbreaking consequences of Cuba’s currency apartheid were bought home to my wife and I on a Saturday afternoon...."

"To my wife and I?" Doesn't the Speccie have proof readers? Or was it perpetrated by a proof reader? These days, I guess anything's possible....

Yank

The embargo has kept Cuba free of American exploitation for almost 50 years. It ought to be the richest country in the world!

J. Peter Fusscas

We Americans should drop the economic embargo against Cuba for what it's worth and allow our corrupt presence to infest and change this socialist utopia.

Ster

Kudos for telling the truth. But a big smack on the head for letting your hate for the right & Bush and the love of a utopian society blind you to all of this. As with so many lefties, they look the other way, or take another side because the right believes something. How many years did this type of group-think keep Cubans in this state? And yes, how many years has the left derided the right on this subject? Even Mike Moore did a movie on this great healthcare system. That's junk. I had a friend visit cuba and break his leg above the ankle in a fall. Because he was to leave the next day anyway, he was given Aspirin (not even tylenol or advil) - just aspirin and a pair of used crutches. They told him that since he was going home the next morning, he'd have to get care in the US. Niiiice! Nope... this is not the fault of the US Embargo. I believe that has an effect, but a very small one. As with all socialists regimes, they cannot work on their own. Take away the USSR's money, and Cuban cannot stand. As for the USSR, another piece of proof that you cannot run a socialist state and expect to prosper.

Pedro

I also went to Cuba three years ago to visit friends and family. I also expected a lovely example to the world in what is possible when people get beyond the greed of private property and the profit motive. I have traveled and lived all over Latin America, and seen poverty in many different forms. But Cuba is the worst. While I was there, Cubans were going without rice, flour, oil, and coffee. The next week, there was rice and flour, but no beans or sugar. What good are doctors with no medicine? What good is universal literacy if all the books are censored? And the "US blockade" argument is total nonsense. I could buy anything I wanted -- coffee, sugar, Coca-Cola, aspirin -- at one of the "tourist" stores. Unfortunately, these stores are in tourist-only areas like the Orwellian-named "Havana Libre" hotel -- and 3 guys with machine guns keep normal Cubans out of those stores. Viva la revolucion! There's a reason everybody living under the revolucion are trying to escape, and why none of the well-heeled journalists and intellectuals who fawn over Castro actually want to move to Cuba. And I also went to the Coppelia. Castro built it to prove that socialism could produce the best ice cream (seriously). When I went, they were out of every flavor except one (of course). And the ice cream really, really sucked.

Dan Culton

I have no idea why the left looks at Castro as the second coming. He has murdered and imprisoned hundreds of thousands of Cubans for last 49 years for "crimes" as simple talking to a reporter. He should be tried for crimes against humanity instead great leftest civil libertarians like Michael Moore wants to take him to the Oscars. My wish is that all leftest that love the Castros (particularily Moore) should move to Cuba and are required to live as common Cubans do.

Vikon

I can't believe anyone would be astonished at this. Hasn't Communism WHEREVER it is practiced eventually been showed to be incompatible with a free humanity? After all it is diametrically opposed to Darwinian evolution. Why do you think that Free market societies have such astonishing freedoms and vibrany? It rewards the people who take the risks and have the smarts with the greatest opportunities. Just like natural law.

Matt Dedinas

Well, glad you opened your eyes a bit. Now you might see that "Right Wing Nasties" are right and what your belief system gets EVERY time. Remember Stalin and Pol Pot? These guys and others like them were also once adored by Lefty loons. The Left is always wrong and acts like it's always right! Wake up, man!

mark

If you have not read F.A. Hayek's Road to Serfdom, I highly recommend it. This classic describes/predicts what must be the end result of any serious socialist endeavor. For a good intro, google the Reader's Digest condensed version. r/s Mark

S Prestek

What does this moron Neil Clark expect? White haired, Nehru jacketed wood nymphs playing hand carved penny flutes skipping through the forest? What socialist paradise has he visited that exhibits any sort of progress or modernity? People like this clod used to be called “useful idiots” by the purveyors of this cruel movement . . . an apt description I might add. Sometimes I wonder. Here in the states, we get stories aplenty of dirt poor Cubans desperately puttering 90 miles across the shark infested sea in (really) converted-into-boats 1950 Chevrolet pickups. Why do that if health care is free and the living is easy? What? They don’t like Savile Row suits? Hardly. Did Clark miss the muriel boat lift or was that all capitalist propaganda to stain Fidel’s legacy? I have always held that followers of Socialism and Communism are more than just naive. It’s just that their brains don’t work. At all. Neil Clark: Exhibit No. 1.

Jarbo

Mr. Clark has it backward He wasn't disillusioned when he left Cuba, he was disillusioned before he went. Socialism has never, will never work. Ain't goona happen . Any system that punishes achievement and rewards mediocrity and sloth is doomed to failure. Mr. Clark, like all socialists (and liberals as well) is dangerously naive.

Goldberg

What's so "indefensible" about sanctions against a regime such as Castro's? You didn't seem to have a problem when they were hurting South Africans.

Texas Wingnut

Does this mean you are going to take down your Che Guevara poster?

joe

wow. I guess this makes Michael Moore a true and trustworthy "documentary" director. wait...

W Stroud

Classic socialist. He finally notices that ordinary Cubans are completely destitute, then gets indignant when he doesn't get "free" medical care. What a spoiled brat!

Thomas McFadden

My God! A liberal/socialist with ethics and honest reporting not blinded by hatred of BushHitler! Will wonders never cease? I'm afraid the New York Slimes and Michael Moore won't like you anymore. This was indeed refreshing and I applaud your candor. In the old days, liberals and conservatives could disagree over the means to address an evil but they generally all saw the same evil. You have restored my faith that perhaps there is still common ground to build upon.

Danny Lemieux

But of course health care is free in Cuba. Cuban citizens are the core production units of Fidel's State economy. Health care is an investment. Farm animals, too, get free health care from their owners and for the same reasons. But only to a point, of course.

Delsa Roque de Escobar

Good article, except that you state that during the Batista's Regime it was the same and that its not true. Batista was a dictator, but the currency in Cuba was the same, salaries were better, the Cuban people were allowed in the beaches, restaurants, hotels, etc. You could leave the country and did not have to resort to homemade rafts.

Matt Prihoda

Do you really think that the state would improve the life of the Cuban people? Get a grip. Free enterprise. It works for America; it would work for Cuba, if allowed. MP

erik

yeah, the cuba debate definitely needs more anecdotal evidence..... you're a joke.

James McDonald

It's always amusing to see the faces of bed-wetting liberals when reality brutally tramples their most cherished delusions. However, like rabid dogs, their diseased minds prevent them from seeing the world as it is. The plight of Cubans is no different from the "refugees" from Britain who have fled here to Canada and have enlightened me about the "joys" of multi-racial Britain. Like typical "Liberals" they point out the faults of our Cuban neighbors who refuse to cut their lawns, let their kiddies run around at all hours, refuse to pick up their garbage etc. all the while ignoring the fact that their own house is burning down behind them.

Jason

Excellent article - extremely needed. Cuba is a shithouse. Visited there in 1991 on a media trip - relieved when I left - felt I was being watched every minute. They were undergoing their "special period". Now it sounds like economic menstruation. But if you really want to hear leftist delusion, you should listen to Sally O'Brien and Mario Murillo on Pacifica radio in New York - www.wbai.org - They praise Fidel every chance they get and think the Revolution is terrific and only right-wingers are the critics. CUBA SI - FIDEL HELL NO!!

Cuban

I'm Cuban, and for once I'm glad to see some one on the left that does not follow the old saying of "The enemy of my enemy is my friend" which is what the left is been doing for years. In order to rationalize their disapproval of western democracies they embrace the most brutal of regimes like Cuba, just because these regimes also oppose western democracies.

Snoop Diggity-DANG-Dawg

Yea socialism. Oh wait, socialism sucks.

Nathan

Well, being a right wing nasty this is no surprise to me. However, I am always surprised when some hyper informed lefty will undoubtedly watch Michael Moore's "Sicko", buy into it hook line and sinker and then tell me it is I who buys propaganda. But, what can you do with people who think the proper response to Saddam's diplomatic deceit and corruption of the monitoring agency was to continue diplomacy enforced by the corrupted agency. Amazing?

Ray

Quote of the week (taken from the CentreRight blogspot) - "Of course, I shouldn't make flippant comparisons between the BBC and Cuba. After all, one is a deeply unpleasant leftwing regime and the other is an island in the Caribbean." Priceless!

Jimi

Mr. Clark - I applaud your honest reporting. I am sad it is only you and your wife who now understand the problems with a totalitarian leftist state, and not more of your political persuasion. Perhaps if we let more common folks go see Cuba they would understand as well. Having lived in East Germany prior to the removal of the Communist government there I can tell you this is par for the course. Germans did the best using socialism, but for non-Germans, all of the people suffered. The Russians and Romanians come to mind. I am surprised that you have avoided looking at the historical truth of this for so long, but glad that you had a wake-up call.

Kate Rafferty

Duh.

yochanan

a commie clepto state were have we seen that before? north korea

Ralph Roberts

The term "useful idiot" comes to mind.

BL@KBIRD

Oh dear. It must have been quite a shock to have your paleo-leftist dream besmirched by the reality of Cuba. But don't let that stop you from turning Britain into a similar socialist toilet though. And unfortunately instead of Hispanics , you have ardent Asians wishing to share sharia with you.

andy

if you think Cuba is seen as a failiure, then why not go to Haiti, Jamaica or Domincan republic? Im sure you'll find everyone in those capitalist countries are living a life luxury.

Ernesto

I, for one, appreciate and thank Mr. Clark for his courage in attempting to set his record straight on the reality of Cuba. I was born in Cuba 54 years ago and have spent the last 47 living as an exile away from its shores. During that time, my parents had to endure, and to this day, I still have to put up with the stigma of the "gusano" that the Left has so persistently flings at those who were among the first to recognize the evil nature of the Castro brothers and their system of government by intimidation. NEWSFLASH: Yes, it's ALWAYS been that way! It’s difficult for me to understand how the Left: people who supposedly pride themselves in standing up for the rights of "the little guy," have been able to callously and almost ignorantly blind themselves to the real Castro for so long. Has their hatred of the US been enough of a common bond to this despot, enabling them to ignore his repression of an entire island nation of 11 million people? The only way I can explain this ignorance is when I think that it must be similar to the "suspended disbelief" that one experiences while watching a movie thriller. People really want to believe that the hero (or the villain) of a movie can get a running start, jump from the roof of a 20-story building to the one across the street, and not splatter himself on the street below. I’m glad that Mr. Clark finally saw the bloody mess below. I hope he won't let suspended disbelief take over his mind again. I say to the Left: “Enough is enough!” Quit demonizing the US for being practically the only government in the world that has recognized the need to keep Castro’s style of intimidation from getting a foothold on the rest of America. Help the Cuban people truly get out from under the Castro boot! You wouldn't want that boot on your neck. They don't want it on theirs either, - no matter how much the Cuba feel-gooders tell you they do. It’s just common sense.

Rudy

What do you expect? You sing the praises of that commie pig for 50 years and are shocked he did the same thing as the KGB in the old USSR? You got what you deserved when the Doctor ripped you off. The same thing happens all the time in Latin America's leftist countries like Venezuela. So all you leftie commie enthusiasts, way to go in cheering on Cuban Communism!

Adrian Peirson

Typical, all we get fed is Marxist Propaganda. Capitalism mixed with a Little Socialism works best because ot rewards Peoples efforts.

Carlos

I'm a Cuban/American, really where have you been? your scraping the surface with your story. There are horror stories of persecution and torture under this regime. The cuban people have been staving for years. Cuban have no rights in Cuba as you and your wife witnessed.

Tony Gonzalez

Mr. Clark's excellent article provides a reprise of the "college student" disillusionment of the early seventies, when thousands went to Cuba to cut sugarcane in solidarity with the "people's regime." Ironically, it was Castro who put an end to all those visits upon discovering that most of these young people were returning home, after a mere two or three weeks in Cuba, overwhelmed by an excruciating sense of disgust and disappointment, upon discovering the multi-layered lies used to prop-up Castro's "Orwellian scam."

David Short

So what's new about this?

And one dopey, mean tourist's complaint about being charged for a medical consultation (all the poor booby had was an earache) is not exactly investigative journalism and evidence of totalitarianism and oppression.

A better reporter would have looked for signs of change under Raul's 'leadership'.

When the real Castro dies, Cuba will change totally. I just hope I make it there to take a peek before it goes back to 'normal'.