a brief flame...

[Brad De Long]

Re:
>
>Cuba would be the one glaring exception to this general rule, in both
>counts. Any thoughts on what sets apoart the Cuban Secretary Generals
>from their counterparts? It seems to me that it makes a big difference
>wether the S. G. get to power through a homegrown revolution or riding
>on top of Red Army tanks.
>

It does. It is. It is no accident that Cuba has been the kindest and
gentlest of Communist regimes (save for Allende).

I have not yet seen a good unscrambling of how much of Cuba's
less-than-standard-relative-regress was due to Soviet subsidies: the
collapse of the Cuban economy and of many Cuban social achievements after
the end of the Soviet Union suggests a lot...

I am told (by my Cuban exile aunt) that Havana in the 1950s and early 1960s
looked about as prosperous as San Juan...

Brad DeLong