More Communist Dictators
While we are on the subject, Val at
Babalu Blog links to a wonderful entry at
Reason over Might
Cuba's decline: By the numbers
The disastrous "progress" that Cuba has experienced over the past 40-50 years, during its "pretty revolution", can be quantified. The following figures are attributed to UN, FAO, and UNESCO sources and tell it all. A catastrophic decline in living standards, productivity, healthcare, and income -- all attributable directly to the Great Leader, F. Castro himself, beloved icon of the dreaming revolutionary left (see table below).
Interestingly, there has been no tradeoff for Cubans: they have not received better living conditions in exchange for less freedom or greater freedom in exchange for worse living conditions. Instead, they have received the worst of both worlds. They suffer their ignominious, imposed poverty in conditions of oppression, in a police state that negates civil liberties, where freedom of expression and political activity are remote dreams, where an arbitrary legal system means that anything you do or say can be held against you at the whim of the dictator and his minions.
Here are just a few entries from the table that John drew together. It lists numbers, the first one from pre-Castro 1959, the second one from 2004:
Population in million inhabitants
1959: 6
2004: 12
Per capita income, $ per year
1959: 1200
2004: 70
Telephones per 100 inhabitants
1959: 15
2004: 3,5
Electricity consumption per capita, watts
1959: 450
2004: 75
Sobering thought...
Posted by DaveH at June 15, 2005 12:17 PM