The Cuban Revolution as Socialist Human Development

The book argues that the Cuban Revolution warrants a closer look as a model of socialist human development. A re-reading of the Cuban Revolution from this angle engages unresolved issues in the theory of socialist humanism and the notion of human development popularized by the United Nations Development Programme (i.e., predicated on capitalism). UNDP economists and other agencies of international cooperation for development give a human face to a capitalist development process that is anything but humane. Socialism in Cuba has taken a very different form (socialist human development) than it did elsewhere in the twentieth century. The Cuban Revolution's unique characteristics enabled it to survive adverse conditions - a 'near-perfect storm' - that still threaten its evolution.

Henry Veltmeyer, PhD (1975) in Political Science, McMaster University, is Professor of Development Studies at the Universidad Autónoma de Zacatecas (Mexico) and Saint Mary’s University (Canada). He has published extensively on the political economy of globalization and developments in Latin America. Recent publications include The Critical Development Studies Handbook: Tools for Change.

Mark Rushton, PhD (2010), in Development Studies, Universidad Autónoma de Zacatecas, is a freelance consultant, copyeditor, academic translator and author, with a specialist interest in Cuba and the development implications of information technology.