Saturday, November 26, 2016

Robert Paul Wolff — FIDEL CASTRO IS DEAD


Philosopher Robert Paul Wolff reminiscences about his own radicalization owing to the Cuban Revolution and the US response to it, naming names.

What hardly anyone ever mentions about this is the plight of the Cuban people under dictator Fulgencio Batista, who was notoriously corrupt and involved with the US mafia, but was a loyal US ally. It's not like Castro seized power from a legitimate regime that was governing in the interest of the people. Post-Castro the lot of the Cuban people improved immensely in comparison with life under the Batista regime, but that was undercut by sanctions imposed by the US that are still in place.

Fidel, you will be missed but not forgotten.

The Philosopher's Stone
FIDEL CASTRO IS DEAD
Robert Paul Wolff | Professor Emeritus, University of Massachusetts Amherst

7 comments:

Malmo's Ghost said...

...And the Batista comparisons are ridiculous. They don't make Castro any less evil.

Tom Hickey said...

Oh, you prefer Batista, or some comparable US puppet? Did you read the reference in the post?

The problem that the US elite has had is in opposing people that are "socialists" or, heaven forbid, "communists," the substitute has been corrupt, authoritarian dictators that the US elite is fine with as long as the toe the line.

Anyone who challenges that, it vilified in the US propaganda machine as little better than an animal.

For example, the "plight" of the Cuban people under Castro is held up as proof while at the same time the US elite has strangled Cuba economically since it has not been able to assonate Castro or accomplish regime change from within and doesn't want to invade.

Spare me the tears and outrage. The tears and outrage should be over what the US elite as done, and not only to Cuba. Cuba get held on whereas others were not able to do so.

This is straight up neo-imperialism and neocolonialism.

Now the strategy is to make nice, sort of, and get a foothold in Cuba to effect regime change.

Kaivey said...

He was a great man, stood to to the evil slave holders and set his people free. The US had enslaved millions in the third world, started endless wars there, ruined their lives, stole their wealth and hard work. They called it capitalism, but it was never that, it was piracy. The 'free West' was the freedom to plunder.

Malmo's Ghost said...

Nice try, Tom.

I don't prefer any stripe of autocratic dictator, but apparently you and others do. And please stop the Castro is better than so many other dictatorial murderers comparisons. It doesn't make him any less evil. And please don't lump Trump with anything remotely close to Castro evil unless you operate under some bizarre inverse calculus for what constitutes evil. And apparently you're in denial but communism is not remotely comparable to anything America has done. America, unlike global communism in all it's varieties, is not responsible for even a fraction of communist state enacted 100 million plus murders the past 100 years.


Tom Hickey said...

What is not recognized or acknowledged by people who have drunk the propaganda kool-aid is that the US and Cuba were at war and still are at war. An economic blockade is an act of war!

Castro did not start out as a "communist." He only hardened and hunkered down with US pressure to the point of a covert invasion that Castro's cohort turned back ignominiously. After than, Cuba was effectively under martial law, and Castro is the only "dictator" that survived the US onslaught and died before he could be assassinated or overthrown.

Of course, Castro was authoritarian when it came to governing given the context in which he operated. If he hadn't been, he would not have lasted. There were 630 unsuccessful assassination attempts!

The Cuban people and their leadership deserve a lot of credit for pulling this off.

Malmo's Ghost said...

The Cuban people pulling this off? Are you serious? The same people who under the autocratic thumb of their leader would be summarily executed if they disagreed with him, such as happened to tens of thousands of others? But I get it. You commies can't make omelets without breaking tens of thousands of eggs.

Look up Stockholm Syndrome.

Joe said...

Just so we're clear on consistency and universality issues, Malmo you also consider dick cheney, Reagan and jfk to be pure unadulterated evil?