Compare and contrast the socialist path to development Essays

Compare and contrast the socialist path to development Essays Compare and contrast the socialist path to development Essay Compare and contrast the socialist path to development Essay Compare and contrast the socialist way to development with mention to any two 3rd universe states. Cuba and Vietnam present us with two interesting and absorbing states seeking to follow the socialist way to development. The socialist way to development can be contrasted with the capitalist way to development. The first can be defined as economic development without capital, the 2nd as economic development with capital, where capital is money and merchandises which can be consumed. Although this is possibly an simplism, it provides a orderly heuristic tool by which we can compare and contrast the waies taken by Cuba and Vietnam. A job presents itself at the beginning in utilizing this definition of development A popular step of development is normally gross domestic merchandise per capita ( GDP ) of population, which is a step of capital, and hence non suited as a socialist step. In the absence of another step, nevertheless, we will follow this step, but with an explicitly historical prejudice. Comparison and contrast can so be made over clip, with mentions to historical events in each state, saying when they happened. The socialist way to development has its beginnings in the work of Karl Marx, a German philosopher whose chief part was likely the labour theory of value, which states that economic value is derived non from capital, but from the labor required to make the capital. Failure to mensurate capital in this manner leads to disaffection of labor, he says, and finally socialist revolution. In Cuba the socialist revolution happened in 1959, led by Fidel Castro, who introduced socialism from 1960 onwards. His first actions were to nationalize all big farms, or convey so under public ownership, and take all foreign ownership of belongings, largely US belongings. In 1991 Cuba had a GDP per capita of US $ 1580, which is has non yet surpassed, because of the diminution in economic activity with other socialist states. The consequence of nationalizing all big farms was to centralize production and to distribute it every bit amongst all Cubans. By making so, Castro removed competition amongst husbandmans, who now had to farm to run into with formal political programs. Equally significantly harmonizing to Marx’s philosophy, was societal policy, which led to Cuba developing better lodging, wellness and educational policy than anyplace else in the Caribbean. Cuba now has more physicians per capita than about anywhere else in the universe, a lower infant mortality rate than most states and a lower pupil to teacher ratio than France, Germany, the United Kingdom or the United States. Although officially still a socialist democracy, Cubans are progressively abandoning the rigorous Marxist philosophy of public ownership of the factors of production, in favor of a mix of public and private. President Castro maintains that Cuba is still ruled with socialist ideals, with the Central Planning Board he established in the 1960’s still running five twelvemonth programs that set monetary values of all economic factors. Cuba relies on international monetary values for its exports, nevertheless, most peculiarly for its rich nickel resources. It might be argued that because it is an island, Cuba is more able to maintain its philosophy pure, but because it is non economically self-sufficing, the state must trust on international economic sciences to bring forth factors on its land. By contrast, Vietnam has land boundary lines with other states, with whom it engages in trade, most notably with China, the state possibly most responsible for its socialist civilization. Historically, Vietnam has been socialist since June 1976, when the communist North united with the South to go a one-party province. Prior to this, the North had been socialist since the licking of the Japanese in the 2nd universe war, which occupied Vietnam and allowed the Vichy French to administer. Full blown socialism was non possible until the terminal of the Vietnam War and the licking of the American oppositions to socialism. Vietnam’s GDP per capita was US $ 435 in 2002. This compares unfavorably with Cuba, nevertheless Vietnam is a preponderantly agricultural economic system, and it is possible that its economic system is more socialist as a consequence. The ground for this is that Vietnam’s land is publically owned, like Cuba’s, but because Vietnam does non hold Cuba’s natural resources independent of the land, socialist ownership is much more recognized by the Vietnamese public. For case, between 1997 and 2001 Vietnam’s production of Piper nigrum and java, whose growing relies on the land, developed by 338 % and 100 % . Of Vietnam’s labour force, 65 % is employed on the land, hence Marx’s labour theory of value is clearly applicable ; in this state, with so many people deducing their income from publically owned land, there is improbable to be much force per unit area for democratic elections, because people will understand their economic endurance is guaranteed by socialism which values their labour independently of the land value. In developmental footings, Vietnam is much more a 3rd universe state than Cuba, because of this agricultural labor force. Phan new wave Khai, the Vietnamese Prime Minister, is no longer required to continue socialism under the 2001 fundamental law. This most recent of the five fundamental laws requires the Vietnamese authorities to protect the rights of Vietnamese life abroad. As the leader of the authorities, Phan van Khai and his predecessors have non been required to construct socialism since 1980, when socialism was dropped from the fundamental law. In May 2004 the agribusiness and rural development curate, Le Huy Ngo, was dismissed from the authorities for leting corruptness in his ministry. The parliament, elected since 1992, played a big function in his dismissal. The contrast with Cuba, which does non keep elections, is uncomparable. In decision, we can summarize by stating that the way to development in Cuba and Vietnam has greatly changed since the origin of socialism. Karl Marx’s socialist theories have been mostly superseded by capitalist steps of development, if non capitalism itself, because of the democratic and international force per unit areas which favour economic over socialist development. The 19th century that gave birth to socialism relied mostly on agricultural laborers to transport out its socialist revolutions, which are antithetical to development, hence likely there is no true socialist way to development.