Implementing Socialism - CF's Musings on It

[CubanFox]

This post is a hypothesis. All the questions are assuming that we are operating in St Vincent and the Grenadines (http://www.cia.gov/cia/publications/factbook/geos/vc.html), an island chain nation in the Caribbean.

http://www.3dflags.net/assets/XV21AE/gif/2/s/3dflagsdotcom_stvin_2fawl.gif

Need it be violent?
Could we form a political party and win the hearts and minds of the 115,000 people on the islands?

Need a dictatorship be in power to begin our planning for a new government?
Would it be right for our political party (let's call it the St Vincent Socialist Party, or SVSP for short) to attempt to take power, either by democracy or with guns blazing, even if there is an undespotic cappie government in place?

Once the SVSP is in power, should we undertake radical reform?
Once we're in power in Kingstown, should we undertake massive social reform, such as, implementing the education system proposed in the Redstar2000 Papers or starting collective farms etc or should we go slowly as not to alienate our people?

Should we rigidly follow one ideology?
Should we follow a particular form of socialism, such as Castroism, regardless of what the people say? Should we even consult the people on what sort of social action takes place?

Drug laws?
As it is, St Vincent and the Grenadines is a major transshipment point for drugs from Columbia heading for the US. Should we legalize drugs, rendering this criminal industry impotent and possibly attracting people from the US to our country to take advantage of our new law?

Should we use propaganda and indoctrination?
Will we build murals of Lenin and Marx to adorn the streets? Teach our kids that socialism is right and capitalism is wrong? Should we let them decide, and allow open emigration if they wish to leave for America?

Religion...yay or nay?
Will a socialist St Vincent and the Grenadines be an atheist St Vincent and the Grenadines? (screw whoever thought though of that long name) Remember that 88% of St Vincentians practise Christinanity. Will we build churches and things, or will we knock them down and say "You are wrong and we are right!"? Or will we be tolerant and uphold freedom of speech?

Should we change our major exports?
Would it be a waste of time trying to change the country's economy away from bananas, arrowroot and tennis racquets to perhaps something less agricultural? Maybe we could make things such as rum and both tobacco and marijuana cigars; processed products that everyone loves and can be sold for a high profit overseas? More people are needed to work a cigar factory than say a banana farm. We could turn a 22% unemployment rate into a 0% unemployment rate.

On a less important manner, what about the flag?
Will we change it to all red with perhaps three golden diamonds in the middle, a bit like the current flag? Or will we keep it the way it is to appease people who want to preserve St Vincentian history?

Conclusion
Depending on your answers to the above questions, a St Vincent and the Grenadines ruled by the SVSP could be either a leftist utopia...or a Stalinist hell. Chose wisely.

If you can be bothered...
Please give your thoughts on each question.

[redstar2000]

Remember Grenada?

When the U.S. Marines arrive, all your questions will be moot.

I think we have to accept the unpleasant reality; until there is a massive uprising of the working class in an advanced capitalist country, one that actually has the resources to inflict serious harm on U.S. imperialism, the likelihood of real world answers to your questions are, at best, uncertain.

But as long as we're blowing smoke out of our asses...

(1) A parliamentary strategy might work in a tiny country, provided the attentions of the major capitalists were focused elsewhere and they didn't think in advance to flood the country with money during the election campaign. When the capitalists speak of "a free election", they mean one they can buy.

(2) Probably not; to be perceived as usurpers is not a good thing. To come to "power" as a consequence of a massive uprising would give us far more of a mandate to introduce sweeping changes.

(3) See 2 above; the more involved masses of people are, the more revolutionary you can be.

(4) Well, I think we are Marxists and should remain Marxists; what that would mean in practice would depend on the details of the situation.

(5) Yes, definitely legalize all drugs. (That would probably be the "excuse" that U.S. imperialism would use to invade us.) Alternatively, we could leave the drug laws on the books but just stop enforcing them.

(6) Certainly we should do everything we could to convince people that we were right; but yes, let those who want to leave do so. Plane tickets are cheaper than prisons.

(7) Start by nationalizing the big cathedrals, strip them of anything valuable and sell it abroad, then demolish them. See how it goes from there. Catholic clergy who give us a hard time in public get a one-way ticket to Rome. No visas to be issued to any "replacements"

(8) Yes, a small country is always better off if it can sell a "value-added" commodity on the world market. Coffee might also be a good product to produce if the cllimate will permit...but it should be a bean-to-package product.

(9) Conduct a popular referendum with half-a-dozen designs for a flag, including the old one.

A pleasant fantasy...

:cool:

PS: An absurd name for a country, by the way. Look into the traditions of the islands for a name that is both secular and historical and re-name it accordingly.

(Edited by redstar2000 at 8:55 am on May 18, 2003)