(by Heiko Khoo originally published on China.org.cn)
Cuban President Raul Castro and the
Cuban Workers' Federation have announced a plan to reduce the state
workforce by up to a million workers in the near future, signaling the
start of profound changes. Cuban society is undoubtedly in need of
radical reform. At present the state employs around 80 percent of the
workforce and planning is supposed to control the entire economic
system.
The Cuban government recognizes that
the old system of bureaucratic planning does not work; the state
employs ice-cream sellers, taxi drivers and hairdressers, branches of
economy where private operations and incentives are normal and natural.
Hairdressing is one of the oldest private professions in the world, at
least 6000 years old, and private taxis have existed since the first
horse drawn carriages. There is no rational argument for public
ownership of these sectors.
The consequences of excessive
nationalization have been a number of severe economic distortions.
Rations of food and essentials supplement meager real wages; the result is that to secure elementary commodities people are
compelled to turn to the black market. The black marketeers and corrupt
officials collaborate to enrich themselves, parasitically stealing from
the public. In many branches "people pretend to work and the state
pretends to pay them". Lethargy sets in, which fosters support for
reactionary forces, thus the young often look to the United States as
the model of the good life.
On the other side, Cuba reveals the
strengths of planned economies. In spite of the US embargo, Cuba has
continued to surprise the world in its achievements in health,
education and welfare. Compared to its meager per capita production,
Cuba produces miracles in these sectors. With only $300 per capita
spent on health care annually, Cuba has the highest ratio of doctors to
population in the world, 64 per 10,000.
If China wanted to catch up with
Cuba's in this sphere, it would need about 8 million doctors and 11
million nurses, compared to 1.8 million doctors and 1.3 million nurses
today (according to the World Health Organization.) The percentage of
healthcare costs met by the state is over 95 percent in Cuba, as
opposed to 55 percent in China. China’s total numbers of doctors and
nurses is the highest in the world, and given the inputs, China’s
achievements in healthcare since 1949 have been immense. But economic
transformation has left general medical provision lagging behind. Many
people are unable to afford the treatment or medicines they need,
fostering anger and social discontent. With the Chinese government
promoting basic healthcare for all, and trying to reduce social
inequality, the speed of China’s social advance can be judged by how
rapidly it reaches Cuban levels of healthcare provision.
Capitalist ideologues argue that
health care is simply a black hole in the state budget; but the US
government spends more than ten times as much on healthcare per capita
as Cuba, yet with results that are only marginally better. In fact,
where the private sector is permitted to plunder the state health
service, colossal resources are wasted and public money is squandered
for short-term benefits and private profit.
Fidel Castro sought to focus the
technical and scientific resources of the Cuban nation on sustaining
its healthcare model, and attaining breakthroughs in vaccines and
medical sciences. The present scientific and technical revolution in
medical care opens up extraordinary potential to those publicly funded
healthcare systems that plan, develop and apply visionary ideas. In
stem-cell research, biotechnology, genetic engineering and
nanotechnology, revolutionary advances open up the possibility for the
average healthy lifespan to reach 100yrs or more, in the foreseeable
future.
Global research and development has
been greatly promoted by the spread of communications technology and
colossal advances in computing power. However, with multinational
private companies dominating key domains of research and development,
we face the danger that access to the results of the new sciences, will
be rationed primarily by money. This can be prevented. With sufficient
determination and support, Fidel Castro’s vision to transform Cuba into
a world power in socialized medical science is realizable, and its
healthcare model can bring immense benefits to the world.
China could easily meet all the
consumer product needs of the Cuban people at low cost. This would
alleviate many petty hardships for the Cuban people and undermine the
inhumane and reactionary US blockade. When the USSR collapsed, the
Cubans managed to survive without outside help; now both Venezuela and
China are playing a big role in providing essential finance and support
that permits Cuba to remodel its economy. The Cuban Communist Party
wants to develop its economy while retaining public ownership of the
commanding heights, and protecting the social benefits of the
revolution. For China, with its booming economy, wealthy state
enterprises, and colossal demand for quality socialized healthcare,
there should be no limit to boldness in collaboration, investment and
co-operation with Cuba.
The author is a columnist with China.org.cn. For more information please visit:
http://www.china.org.cn/opinion/node_7084903.htm
