Socialism Starves the People: Cuba Edition

“What were the three greatest successes of the revolution? Education, health, and defense. What were the three greatest failures? Breakfast, lunch, and dinner.”

                                                 —Cuban Food Joke

The radio program The Splendid Table recently featured a story about the rediscovery of good food in Cuba. One of the segments featured an interview with writer Tamar Adler whose piece “Why Cuba Is Becoming a Serious Culinary Destination” explains how the gastronomic life of Cubans is beginning to recover from decades of socialism.

You can listen to the segment and read excerpts from Adler’s interview by clicking here.

Adler explains how Castro’s revolution and regime drove the populace to the brink of starvation. Following the revolution, Cuba’s international trade slowed to a crawl. In response to the question of how Cuba’s isolation effected Cuba’s culinary identity, Adler replied:

In her written article Adler elaborates:

While the program segment happily focuses on the recovery of the Cuban culinary scene after Fidel Castro’s stepping down from power and the subsequent opening of Cuba, it also reminds us of how socialism actually impoverished the people by making their mundane, ordinary lives much more difficult to live. The Cuban socialist episode is another negative example of how socialism hurts the masses, the very set of people it promises to help.