Central Planning Versus Markets Marxism: The Cuban Communist Party Confronts

Crisis, Challenge and Change in its 7th Congress

Larry Catá BackerThe Coalition for Peace & Ethics (http://thecpe.org)

Association for the Study of the Cuban Economy 26th Annual Meeting: Cuba: Assessing the Reforms

July 28-July 30, 2016; Miami, Florida

Context• Cuban Communist Party Congresses

• Context for implementation• General focus of Vanguard Party and

ruling apparatus• 6th PCC Congress

• “Reform and opening up” Cuban style• 7th PCC Congress

• First Congress after normalization with the U.S.

• First Congress after historic visit of U.S. President Obama

• Moving forward on the Lineamientos Project

The 7th PCC Congress: “Sin Prisa Pero Sin Pausa” • Return to earlier pattern of

operation• Fidel Castro’s address • Official analysis: "We are not rushing towards a free

market economy, nor is our government taking us there. This is a gradual process of transformation, economic diversification and development of a nationalist private sector” (Rafael Hernandez Temas)

• Continued necessity of the US as the “Great Satan”• 3½ Products

• Review of course of reform• Adoption in Principle of (unavailable)

Conceptualización• Development Plan to 2030• Action Plan for PCC cadres

Raul Castro Opens 7th Congress of Cuban Communist Party By:Prensa Latina News Agency. 16 April, 2016

The Focus• Central Questions:• Does the 7th PCC Congress mark the return to traditional models of Cuban

Marxist Leninist macro-economics and politics?• Does it suggest (Conceptualización) a development of a contemporary Central

Planning Marxism Model to suit the present historical stage of development of Cuba?• If so, is it different from or incompatible with the Chinese Markets Marxism

Model?

• Presentation• Consider the 7th PCC Congress• Analyze the substantive consequences of its sputtering reform trajectory

• Conceptualización del modelo económico y social Cubano de desarrollo socialista: Plan nacional de desarrollo económico y social hasta 2030: Propuesta de vision de la nación, ejes y sectores estratégicos

• Consider broader consequences

7th Party Congress: “Fear and Loathing;” or Caution and Incrementalism?

• Overall theme: The Shadow of . . . • “Fear and Loathing”

• U.S.; markets; neo-liberalism; globalization • Factionalism• Caution and Incrementalism?

• In the shadow of the Lineamientos• Explaining/excusing the slow pace of reform

and opening up• Structural Consequences

• Uncertainty• Delay (key documents unavailable)• Transparency

• Signaling• Fidel Castro and the Foreign Ministry

• Internal factions differences become more acute• Fewer individuals may participate in

consultation• Key battle over the extent of reform and the

willingness to open up (and to whom)

The New “Central Planning Marxism”

• Basis for the conceptualization of reform• The language that will be used to

understand “facts” • Norms against which action is

assessed• The framework for giving meaning to

concepts and structuring its implementation• Close alignment between

Conceptualización, and the 2030 development plan.

Introducción: Ideological Framework • Expone las bases teoricas y caracteristicas esenciales del Modelo Economico y Social Cuba

no de Desarrollo Socialista (¶ 2)• con el objetivo de avanzar hacia una sociedad superior (¶ 9).• en funcion de avanzar hacia una sociedad socialista, prospera y sostenible (¶ 10).

• Specify foundational premises for the construction of Cuban socialism in this stage in its development, its structures and strategic goals

• La sociedad cubana se encuentra en el proceso historico de construccion del socialismo, como alternativa viable para superar el capitalismo y, con ello, contribuir modestamente a la supervivencia de la Humanidad. (¶ 8).

• y se ajusta a las nuevas condiciones internas y el contexto internacional contemporaneo (¶ 12).

• Essential basis is the concept of Revolution (2000) of Fidel Castro• Grounded in a long entanglement with and development of strategies of opposition to the U.S. leading to the reform and

opening up of the Lineamientos (¶¶14- 35)

• From these were forged 7 basic principles para un desarrollo socia- lista prospero y sostenible (¶ 36-43):

• (a) unity and independence of the Cuban people; (b) popular support of the leadership role of the PCC; (c) the universality of social welfare services; (d) the strengthening of Cuban values; (e) active engagement of a socialist civil society; (f) productive capacity to engage in global commerce in specified sectors; (g) augmented international prestige and standing among the community of nations.

Capitulo 1: Los Principios Que Sustentan El Modelo

• Objective: build a total (an “all around”)Socialist Society: impulsar y consolidar la construccion de una sociedad socialista prospera y sostenible (¶ 49)

• Sustainability is a function of development• Development a function of the Lineamientos (¶¶ 50-51)• Develop both material and social productive forces to produce rich and model state ¶ 52-53

• 1.1 Principios de nuestro socialismo que sustentan el Modelo ¶¶ 54-73 (Sustaining Principles)• Principles: Synthesis of the continuation of the essential basis of Cuban socialism ¶ 57-73:

• Socialist human rights and moral values (¶58) (“Todo ello, en contraposicion al egoismo, el individualismo y el consumismo enajenante y depredador.”); nondiscrimination (¶68); right to work, health, education, etc. (¶ 69), to ensure social welfare (¶ 70-71)

• Leadership of the PCC as the Leninist vanguard party (¶59)• The State as the guarantor and source of sovereign authority (¶60)• Socialist democracy is exercised through the legislature under the leadership of the PCC (¶ 61) • State as the source of popular rights and obligations (¶ 62).• State control of the fundamental means of production (¶ 63) legitimating/democratizing (¶¶64-65)• Highest objective: Preserving the state and Revolution (¶¶66; 72)• Central Planning is the principal means of socialist development (¶67)• Control of individuals as a means of social production; Individuals obligation to protect state property and

work hard (¶ 73)

Capitulo 1: Los Principios . . .Y Sus Principales Transformaciones

• 1.2. Transformaciones principales del Modelo ¶¶ 74-115• Se refieren a las transformaciones que caracterizan los nuevos fundamentos del Modelo a partir de las

condiciones internas y externas actuales (¶ 75)

• 1.2.1. Consolidacion del papel primordial de la propiedad social sobre los medios fundamentales de produccion • Necessary conditions for transformation: Creation of a revolutionary working class (¶80); modernization of

SOEs (organization, technology, innovation)(¶¶81-2); Application of Socialist distribution to workers (wage markets) (¶83); SOE self financing for development and improvement (¶¶84-85); Integrated SOE state ministry planning and direction (¶86); Unified currency (¶ 87)

• 1.2.2. Reconocimiento y diversificacion de diferentes formas de propiedad y de gestion, adecuadamente interrelacionadas (¶¶89-96)• Enhanced “socialist foreign investment”• Recognition of complementary role of private property over specifically designated means of production

which must be bent to the needs of perfecting the centrally planned economy (¶¶ 91-96)• forma parte de los elementos que condicionan la necesidad objetiva del reconocimiento del mercado, en el

que interactuen bajo la planificacion como via principal de direccion de la economia (¶94)

• 1.2.3. Perfeccionamiento del Estado socialista, sus sistemas y organos de direccion (¶¶97-115)• State responsible for development of social and economic order (¶ 99)• Central planning of the economy must control both the state sector and private markets (¶101-104)• Import substitution and export growth as basic policy (¶ 105)• Judicial norms to be developed in aid of this system con orden y disciplina (echoing Raul Castro))

Capitulo 2: La Propiedad Sobre Los Medios De Produccion

• 2.1. Principales formas de propiedad sobre los medios de produccion (¶¶119-191) (forms of state ownership of means of poduction)• a) La propiedad socialista de todo el pueblo (¶¶121-157);

• 1. Las unidades presupuestadas (non-commercial enterprises) • 2. las entidades empresariales de propiedad socialista de todo el pueblo (caracter mercantil).

• b) la propiedad cooperativa (¶¶ 158-167) (labor collectives); • c) la propiedad mixta (¶¶158-167) (joint ventures); • d) la propiedad privada (¶¶1673-186)

• (subject to rules restricting private accumulation of capital); • e) la propiedad de organizaciones politicas, de masas, sociales y otras formas asociativas

(¶¶ 187-181) (mass organizations).

• 2.2. Sobre el sistema de entidades de caracter empresarial (¶¶192-202)• Recaps the only permitted forms of economic organization (¶¶193-200)• State controls juridical persons in all respects through law (¶201)• State reserves to itself the assignment of the provision of goods and services by any of

these economic actors as it sees fit (¶201).

Capitulo 3: La Direccion Planificada De La Economia

• The essence of central planning; engaging with markets (¶¶203-264); • Components:

• a) La planificacion socialista (¶¶206); • El desarrollo socialista se erige en funcion del ser humano considerando las dimensiones politica,

economico-financiera, social, demografica, territorial, cientifico-tecnologica, formativo-cultural, de proteccion y conservacion de los recursos y el medioambiente, entre otras. (¶220)

• b) la regulacion (¶ 207)• Means of market regulation (¶245 et seq): (1) regulate market access and induce rational consumption;

(2) identify areas suitable for market functioning (market ghettos); (3) establish standards and regulate competition; (4) consumer protection; and (5) restrict monopoly conditions contrary to societal interests.

• c) la gestion del Estado (¶208)• Resource management and regional economic integration (shadow of ALBA)

• d) el control (¶ 209) • Monitoring, surveillance, and regulatory structures to detect offenses and enforce planning.

• El sistema nacional de estadisticas da respuesta a las necesidades del nuevo escenario en que interactuan diferentes formas de propiedad y gestion, utilizan- dose de manera combinada metodos directos e indirectos de captacion de in- formacion, como registros administrati- vos y contables, censos, encuestas y otros metodos de estimacion. (¶ 264)

Capitulo 4 La Politica Social • Ties together economic and social development (¶¶ 265-311)

• El ideal de prosperidad de los ciudadanos se sustenta en perspectivas alcanzables de materializacion de proyectos racionales de vida, individuales y colectivos, en correspondencia con los valores de nuestra sociedad, sustentados principalmente en los ingresos provenientes del trabajo, y los derechos constitucionales. (¶ 268)

• 4.1. Los derechos economicos y sociales (¶¶273-298)• Welfare state principles• Education and culture as a socialization tool (¶281-284)

• The cultivation of a taste for beauty (¶285)• Managing free time (286)

• 4.2. El trabajo como fuente de bienestar y prosperidad (¶¶299-311)• Wealth distribution and social justice tied together (¶300);• basic principles (¶311)• Accounting for wage differentials (¶¶301-302) and private property (¶306-7)• Product markets must be managed to permit access to basic necessities

(¶¶308-310)

Consideraciones Finales • Model: “una necesidad para lograr la irreversibilidad y el desarrollo de la

construccion del socialismo en Cuba.” (¶312)• The shadow of Raúl Castro:

• Es preciso asegurar mas explicación al pueblo, mas disciplina y exigencia y un mayor y mas cercano seguimiento al proceso de cambios. Hay que tener, como ya hemos dicho, los oidos y los pies bien puestos sobre la tierra. (¶319)

• An exercise in perfecting the Revolutionary insights as it is applied to changing conditions (¶322)

• para consolidar los logros de la Revolucion e impulsar la construccion de nuestro socialismo pros pero y sostenible. (¶329)

• Shadows• The U.S.(¶328)• Regional integration (ALBA) and multilateral (¶¶ 325-327)

Consequences: Old Habits Die Hard• How does one build a revolutionary

working class that the state can exploit to perfect its control of the economy?• Fear of the United States

• Still the Great Satan• Protection against driving the pace and

context of reform and opening up

• Fear of markets • Fear of engagement• Necessity for control at every level• Conflation of Marxist Leninism with

state planning economic model• Foundation for political legitimacy• Control

And What of the Asian “Markets Marxism” Model?

• Strong echoes of Chinese Communist Party General Program but differences:

• Markets:• Asian--as a means toward Socialist

Modernization v• Cuban--as a marginal complement to State

Control and operation of Political Economyln object

• Path versus perfeccionamiento• Asian: the “Socialist Road” toward Marxist

society• Cuban: Protecting the fruits of the Revolution and

the socialist society created

• Internally versus externally driven• Asian: looking to internal condition• Cuba: external enemies and regional integration

• Management versus Control• Productive forces

• Asian: Use (liberate) toward Leninist ends• Cuban: Use is an ends in itself

Conclusion• 7th PCC Congress and its

Conceptualizacion suggests the difficulty of theorizing the normative basis of the state in times of crisis• Disconnect between elites and masses

• Worldwide phenomenon• Highlights a fundamental crisis in

theorizing state power• Document remains complex and remote;

specialist text• It does not speak to the masses• Embedded with ambiguity

Thanks!

• PowerPoints and Essay may be accessed online.