The Collectivists’ Double Standard

the AZEL PERSPECTIVE Commentary on Cuba's Future, U.S. Foreign Policy & Individual Freedoms - Issue 135

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Have you ever noticed how collectivist intellectuals judge capitalism by its imperfections and collectivism by its aspirations? This is a rhetorical trick, worthy of Houdini, which magically disappears the failures of collectivist ideologies, and hides, deep in the magician’s hat, the social progress resulting from capitalism. Both capitalism and collectivism have been extensively tried and should be equally judged by their performance and outcomes. But that is not the case. The Black Book of Communism offers a conservative estimate of one hundred million innocent individuals murdered by Marxist socialists in the 20th century. To this we can add the approximate twenty million victims of Hitler’s National Socialists. The landscape is always the same, whether it depicts the China of Chairman Mao, Kim Il Sung's Korea, Vietnam under Uncle Ho, Cuba under the Castros, Ethiopia under Mengistu, Angola under Neto, Afghanistan under Najibullah, and others. But the horrific images of this collectivist landscape are painted over with tortured brushstrokes of exculpation where the blame resides not with collectivism, but with those opposing it. Artists use the term pentimenti when detecting the presence of images in a painting that have been changed and painted over. The word is Italian for repentance. But when collectivist intellectuals paint over the horrors of collectivist history, they do not repent. They misdirect attention to the failures of capitalism. Hidden in the magician’s hat of collectivism is the wealth generating capacity of genuine free-market capitalism based on the rule of law, equality of rights, and the right to enjoy the results of one’s labors, savings and investments. This is unmatched by any collectivist ideology. Harvard’s professor of economic development Ricardo Haussmann and others explain that, differences in income are mainly differences in productivity. It is the differences in productivity that make productive places rich and unproductive places poor. Common characteristics of poor countries are: the absence of capitalist firms, and conditions where self-employment predominates. Efficient capitalist production systems require access to many inputs. But the most critical input is economic freedom.  That is, environments where entrepreneurs can take risks and innovate free from asphyxiating government controls and interventions. Scholars of human behavior have also noticed that commercial activities play an important role in the development of civil behavior.  Command economy countries, such as Cuba, experience a sharp decline in civil behavior. Simply put, government bureaucrats or commissars are not likely to be as polite or helpful as someone who earns a living selling his skills. People in poor countries are not being exploited by greedy capitalists. They are being excluded from activities of higher productivity by their collectivist political systems. Consider the case of Cuba, where the only 205 economic pursuits permitted by the government are occupations such as umbrella repairs, and refilling disposable cigarette lighters. Even these activities require specific government permission; a reminder that permission is not freedom. And for good measure, General Castro has decreed that no one will be allowed to get rich. The fact, unacknowledged by collectivists, is that, thanks to free market activities, nearly one billion people were taken out of poverty in the 20 year period from 1990 to 2010. As a share of the total population, the number of poor in developing countries fell from 43% to 21%. The most effective poverty reduction measures we can undertake are to liberalize markets and economic activities so that the poor can get richer. This is the opposite of what collectivism prescribes. Karl Mark defined capitalism as a mode of production where a selfish minority owned the means of production and the majority of the workers were exploited and only able to work for the miserable wages paid by the capitalists. If this is the case, consider the wealth implications. Capitalism in the United States employs 8 out of 9 workers, and the United States GDP per capita income is $57,436.  In India, only 1 of 19 workers is employed by capitalists. India’s GDP per capita is $1,723. Hidden in the collectivists’ magician’s hat is the factual saying that: “The only thing worse than being oppressed by a capitalist is not being oppressed by a capitalist.” Please let us know if you  this article. We welcome your feedback. Abrazos,  Lily & José  (click on the name to email Lily or Jose) This article was originally published in English in the Miami Herald and in Spanish in El Nuevo Herald.   José Azel, Ph.D. José Azel left Cuba in 1961 as a 13 year-old political exile in what has been dubbed Operation Pedro Pan - the largest unaccompanied child refugee movement in the history of the Western Hemisphere. He is currently dedicated to the in-depth analyses of Cuba's economic, social and political state, with a keen interest in post-Castro-Cuba strategies. Formerly, a Senior Scholar at the Institute for Cuban and Cuban-American Studies (ICCAS) at the University of Miami, Jose Azel has published extensively on Cuba related topics. In 2012 and 2015, Dr. Azel testified in the U.S. Congress on U.S.-Cuba Policy, and U.S. National Security.  He is a frequent speaker and commentator on these and related topics on local, national and international media.  He holds undergraduate and masters degrees in business administration and a Ph.D. in International Affairs from the University of Miami. José along with his wife Lily are avid skiers and adventure travelers.  In recent years they have climbed Grand Teton in Wyoming, trekked Mt. Kilimanjaro in Tanzania and Machu Pichu in Peru.  They have also hiked in Tibet and in the Himalayas to Mt. Everest Base Camp. They cycled St. James Way (El Camino de Santiago de Compostela) and cycled alongside the Danube from Germany to Hungary. They have scuba dived in the Bay Islands off the Honduran coast. Their adventurers are normally dedicated to raise funds for causes that are dear to them.  Watch Joe & Lily summit Kilimanjaro. Books by Dr. José Azel In Reflections on Freedom, José Azel brings together a collection of his columns published in prestigious newspapers.  Each article reveals his heartfelt and personal awareness of the importance of freedom in our lives.  They are his reflections after nearly sixty years of living and learning as a Cuban outside Cuba. In what has become his stylistic trademark, Professor Azel brilliantly introduces complex topics in brief journalistic articles. Buy Now En Reflexiones sobre la libertad José Azel reúne una colección de sus columnas publicadas en prestigiosos periódicos. Cada artículo revela su percepción sincera y personal de la importancia de la libertad en nuestras vidas. Son sus reflexiones después de casi sesenta años viviendo y aprendiendo como cubano fuera de Cuba.  En lo que ha resultado ser característica distintiva de sus artículos, el Profesor Azel introduce con brillantez complejos temas en  breves artículos de carácter periodístico. Compre Aqui Mañana in Cuba is a comprehensive analysis of contemporary Cuba with an incisive perspective of the Cuban frame of mind and its relevancy for Cuba's future. Buy now   Pedazos y Vacíos is a collection of poems written in by Dr. Azel in his youth. Poems are in Spanish. Buy now

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