The Culture of Conflict in Modern Cuba

Conflict in Cuba is not new. Since early in Cubas colonial history a small elite has used centralized power to rule for what its members viewed as the common good, which often coincided with their own good. Political officials often took advantage of their situation and created monopolies which limited accountability, social mobility, fair play, and economic development--the rich got richer and the poor got poorer. This work traces this ethos, efforts to change it, and its manifestations in present-day Cuba. The first of seven chapters discusses the history of Cubas government and economy, detailing the ongoing conflict of monism and pluralism. The second chapter details the authors first visit to Cuba and the next four chapters detail the insights that the author gained through his visits to Cuba: Cubans are only too aware that their country has, with very few exceptions, long been under one form of tyranny or another, Cubans hate their chains but fear to lose them, Cubans and their friends and enemies want and fear a pluralistic Cuba, and Cubans understand that though Cuban rightists in the United States hate Castro, they share many of his principles and methods. In a final chapter, the work explores various possibilities that the future may hold for the island.