[Marxism] Cuba to abandon wage caps

[S. Artesian]

To Ruthless: I read the article.  I know that both workers and managers will 
get the bonus.  Changes nothing.

In answer to "guava tree" I am also aware that these changes have been 
seeping through the Cuban society for some time, particularly since the 
withdrawal of Soviet support and the turn to tourism as the single greatest 
source for foreign exchange.  Which means that this is not a case of the 
current leadership "straying from the true path of Fidel."

Nevertheless the Cuban economy and society has been organized with a 
remarkable, and sustained, degree of egalitarian commitment.

Certainly, petty favoritism, and individual abuse can exist.  But petty 
favoritism is not the issue-- what is the issue in Cuba as in China, as in 
the fSU before, is what class relations are being engendered by this policy? 
What property relations will be strengthened by this?

So we need to ask:  How are these rewards to be generated?  And the answer 
is:  they will be generated by the world markets-- and that means production 
not for need, or use, of all, but for need or use of exchange.  Look for 
example at tourism.

Despite the US embargo, Cuba is in no way or shape isolated from the world 
market-- no more than the fSU was, or Poland was before it in 1980.  The 
penetration of the market into the economy is certainly less, but, tourism 
is the largest foreign exchange earner, and tourism has created tremendous 
income differentials in the work force, and serious inequalities in 
production and distribution of services-- such as electricity, varied 
foodstuffs, etc.  In addition, the ecological footprint of tourism is pretty 
destructive.

I don't know how the system can be changed in a different way without a 
resurgence of international revolution.  But we need to know what is driving 
this process in reverse, a reversal that echoes in these inroads against 
egalitarianism.


-- Original Message ----- 
From: "Ruthless Critic of All that Exists" <ok.president+marxml at gmail.com>
To: <sartesian at earthlink.net>
Sent: Friday, June 13, 2008 5:21 PM
Subject: Re: [Marxism] Cuba to abandon wage caps


>>
> I am curious -- where did you get the impression that *only* managers
> (and not workers) will get the productivity "bonus"?
>
>