Review: Fidel Castro

In 1959 Fidel and his compatriots seized power in Cuba, eventually proclaiming some kind of socialist paradise only to bring the reins of government into their own hands and rule the state as their own personal kingdom.

Ideologues on the left complain that true socialism has never been tried and that all the experiments that led to the rise of dictatorships around the world were flawed by the iron fist of individuals who hi-jacked the "revolution". Nevertheless, misery has been imposed upon billions of people in a totalitarian attempt to bend the people to some utopian dream. The problem is that socialism is a utopian dream that completely ignores one important and salient factor, human nature.

Because of the nature of humans, as well as the nature of communism, a disintegration of individual rights under the system becomes inevitable. The only way to bring about the worker's paradise hypothesized by Marx and his progenitors is to coerce individuals to give up their competitive inclinations and their desire for security and their desire to accumulate material wealth. The idea expressed in the slogan, "from each according to his abilities and to each according to his needs", is a laudable ideal, but impossible to enforce and a terrible disincentive to productivity.

Castro's Cuba, as depicted by Servando Gonzalez in his book, "The Secret Fidel Castro: Deconstructing the Symbol" is a case in point. Fidel as a revolutionary was not particularly a communist, his entire movement had more the trappings of fascism. However, he could see that by implementing a communist or socialist philosophy he could take entire charge of every facet of Cuban life and the Cuban economy. Socialism became a tool of the megalomania of a single man and his close associates. Then, once adopted, socialism came to have its own effects on Castro and his men. In Cuba, socialism is often called "soci-o-lism". The term is meant to refer to the "cronyism" that quickly became in-grained in the system and has been epidemic since the beginning.

In Cuba, the people starve, live in substandard, crumbling dwellings, have no freedom of speech and no way to live a decent life. This is because the government rakes off every tiny particle of wealth created in the nation and puts it in the hands of the Supreme Leader, Fidel, to be used as he sees fit. This trend is not unique to Fidel Castro, but he has been the most successful at covering his greed with the aura of a sanctified revolution.

Sr. Gonzalez was once an intelligence officer and one aspect of "The Secret Fidel Castro" is an in-depth personality profile that illustrates the kind of person who tends to rise to the top of a socialist system. What is remarkable about almost every socialist nation since the Russian Revolution in 1917 is the gangster-style dominance of a few personalities. Castro was very much like Stalin in his younger days in his love for murder and mayhem. His strong personality led a group of "cronies" to power. Their complete rape of the economic system brought them villas, wealth and power beyond their dreams. Rather than redistributing this wealth to the people, they horded it all for themselves. In this way, the Cuban government is much like the "nomenclatura" that arose in the Soviet Union under Lenin and Stalin.

Economic mistakes were made in plenty by Castro, horribly constricting the lives of his people. In spite of this, like many socialist theorists, Castro believes himself to be better than his people and to know better than they do what is best for them. Because of Castro's elitism and egocentrism he cannot imagine that his people can do without him. This is also his justification for not giving up power. Besides, to give up power in Cuba is to give up his wealth.

To justify their grip on the nation's vitals, socialist dictators must make themselves seem indispensable. They do this by strictly controlling the news and other media. Castro has a long history of controlling speech in Cuba. As Castro will not allow criticism of himself, he never knows when he is wrong. Thus he grows in the estimation of himself and others.

Under Castro there was a vicious train of events in Cuba that goes something like this. Socialism was imposed for the good of the people. The leadership felt obliged to take all power and rule ruthlessly to eradicate capitalist tendencies. The press had to be suppressed to prevent back-sliding. Criticism of the high-minded leaders was punished, praise of the leadership was rewarded. Those governing the country got used to luxury and power and praise. They came to believe the sycophants and their own propaganda. The power elite made demi-gods of themselves. The ruling class placed itself above the proletariat, ruling it like a feudal domain. The ruling class gorged itself on power, while at the same time its members believed they knew better than the people. Thus the leadership justified its perpetuation of power. As a result, the "Maximum Leader" became a cult figure. The people sank into poverty as the ruling class sucked on its meager production. The exploitation of the working class became an inevitable reality. Marx was right in one regard, the working class was exploited...by the communists, by Castro. This train can be generally applied to socialist systems everywhere.

Servando Gonzalez has written a fascinating book. Some of his assumptions are based on seat of the pants analysis and perhaps a bit of animus for the subject of the work. Nevertheless, his crisp prose and intriguing revelations make the reader look at Fidel Castro from a new perspective. Perhaps the most controversial aspect of the book is the revisitation of the Kennedy assassination which Sr. Gonzalez indicates was likely masterminded by Castro himself. The evidence presented is thought-provoking. The reader will come to his own conclusions.

The value of "The Secret Fidel Castro" is in its vivid portrait of the "Maximum Leader", its depiction of the dangers presented by a renegade dictator to his own people and the people of neighboring states. More, it is a lucid study that helps us to understand not just the man behind one of the last surviving communist states, but also the process and ultimate failure of socialism.

This book is available at Amazon.com.