Re: Hardt & Negri on Genoa

At 11:49 AM 7/30/01 EDT, Kubainf@aol.com wrote:
>Today Cuba's health system is heavily dependent on capitalist globalisation. 
>The countries pharmaceutical sector is expanding in a number of third world 
>countries like China, Iran, Vietnam, Brasil and India where factories for
the 
>production of vaccines and interferon are build with cuban participation. 
>Cuban vaccines like the menningitis B vaccine  and several anti-cancer 
>vaccines will be marketed by multinationals like Smithkline Beecham or York 
>Medicals. Augustin Lage, the brother of the Vice-Premier Carlos Lage, is 
>member of the decision board of York Medicals Inc.

If all third world countries exhibited this kind of 'dependency', the world
would look a lot different than it does right now. Cuba is a relatively
independent political and economic actor whose bioengineering sector has
not only attracted participation from third world countries, but the
imperialist world as well. This kind of empowerment illustrates the value
of a planned economy.

>All this is not at all bad but it is simply stupid to say that Cuba refuses 
>"globalisation". Cuban politicians at all times were masters of global 
>politics and found quite intelligent ways of participation in global 
>arrangements, as they do today.

No, it is stupid to use the word 'globalization' in class-neutral terms. I
myself prefer the term capitalism, or imperialism.


Louis Proyect
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