Will ‘Normalizing’ With Cuba Work?
After normalizing relations with Cuba, Barack Obama said, “I don’t anticipate overnight changes. But what I know deep in my bones is that if you’ve done the same thing for 50 years and things haven’t changed, you should try something different if you want a different outcome.” That’s an understandable argument, and many on both sides of the political aisle believe the embargo against Cuba is a waste. But while maintaining the embargo is unlikely to bring Liberty to Cuba, neither is lifting it. Political analyst Charles Krauthammer argues, “In the early days of the Cold War, there was a semi-tongue-in-cheek proposal that, instead of having bombs on the B-52s, we ought to fill them with nylons and drop them over the Soviet Union. As a result, there will be a revolution; they’re going to become capitalists. This is exactly the same idea for Cuba. It hasn’t worked for Vietnam or China, if your objective is to liberalize it. And the bulk of the benefit is going to go to the military and the repressive apparatus. That’s the argument against normalization.” Then again, spreading capitalism is never Obama’s goal.
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- Cuba
- capitalism