Castro has second thoughts about Communism?

If you have been living under a very large rock for the last decade you may not know that Fidel Castro was president (Prime Minister) of Cuba. After serious illness struck he stepped down and soon after retired. His brother Raul Castro took his place. Fidel Castro is the head of the communist party. In 1965 he lead Cuba into becoming a one-party socialist republic. Cuba is now 90% state run and just to give you an idea of how this communal set up worked for them, the workers are currently making approx. $20 per month. Their housing, school, and health care is basically "free," and their food is supplied by the purchase of ration books at highly subsidized rates. After 45 years, the former prime minister (as well as his brother) have finally stepped back, taken a look at their land and decided that perhaps, communism isn't the best way to run things. Well amidst all of their absolutely atrocious acts, I have to applaud them for actually stepping up to the plate and admitting that things didn't go so well after all.

Every society that has, with dreamers eyes, put communism or socialism into play, eventually comes to that very same conclusion. Communism is based off the idea that man is essentially good. They are honest, will pull their own weight without being asked, and will take only what they need. If you have spent any amount of time in customer service or out in the world at large, you will quickly come to the conclusion that man is not at their core, good. In the words of C.S. Lewis, we are bent. We may not be completely broken, but we are not what we were created to be. Communism is an ideal, it is unfortunate, but it cannot be realized in this world. Communism (and socialism for that matter) is the social structure of an idealist.

One of the things that stands out to me about communism is the lack of advancement. America is known to be one of the fastest advancing societies throughout history. Not to say we are continually advancing because I know a lot of people have a lot of opinions about that. It is undeniable, however, that America's rise to power was about as fast as a burrito and a cup of coffee (some of you will understand that later.) I attribute *part* of this fact to capitalism. (Part part part!!!! I said part!!) Let me explain myself. Capitalism fosters competition. It also allows free movement through the class system. You may be born in a mill village, but in America, you may soon find yourself rocketed into the upper class in under a month. It all depends on your ability to invent, find your niche in a business, know people, or do something extremely shocking and capture it all on camera. Within the communist society, there is no movement within classes. They would like to tell you there are no classes, and everyone is equal. However in reality you usually find 2 classes, the elite, and... everyone else. Most of us, (unless you are kin to the Castro's) fall under the category of "everyone else." Lets say you invented the next best thing to Oxyclean.. (we miss you Billy!) What would your motivation for marketing it be? You may use it to fix your own problems, but it will never make you any money, or add any fame to your life. You are stuck, in that class, every penny you make being equally divided among your neighbors. The sweat of your brow is not yours, it is not for your profit. It is for the profit of the elite and everyone else. It bursts your bubble. Some of you are thinking, well that seems selfish, to cease creating advancements just because there is no cash profit in it for you. Well as previously stated. We are bent people. We all have our price, for you it may not be money, but it is something, perhaps it is providing for your family, or making a name for yourself. Whatever it may be, you have that price that provides you with the motivation for advancement.

Societies must advance, they cannot remain stagnant. It's like sitting on a couch your entire life, you become weak, you become a target. People will overtake you. Your enemies will over-take you. Motivation must be cultivated, and in a capitalist society it is cultivated by competition and desire. A communist society remains dormant, stagnant, and weak.