by Jason Stotts
The Guardian is reporting that Cuba is set to cut 1,000,000 government jobs in the coming year, with 500,000 government jobs eliminated by March.
Cuba has announced it will lay off more than a million state employees in a sweeping privatisation drive that will transform the island’s socialist economy.
Authorities said layoffs would begin immediately amid loosened controls on private enterprise which, it is hoped, will kickstart the private sector and create new jobs for former public workers.
So, while the US descends into the irrationality of socialism, traditionally socialist countries like the UK and Cuba are both moving away from socialism towards freedom and respect for individual rights. This goes to show that in the end reality cannot be circumvented by wishing that things could be otherwise: there are economic facts that are immutable and no matter how “compassionate” one wants to be, only capitalism and a complete respect for individual rights can ever be viable as a socioeconomic model.
I want to point out that this means that we are winning. Slowly, but surely, we are turning the tide against irrationality and the world is moving towards capitalism and freedom. This is why we must continue to fight here in the US: in the end, good ideas will overcome the bad. Ideas move the world and if we can continue to influence the intellectual zeitgeist, we can move the world. So, let’s enjoy this small victory and head back into the fray energized that the world is changing and we are leaders in that change.