Hostname: page-component-78c5997874-g7gxr Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-11-06T05:18:22.120Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false

Ideological, Political, and Economic Factors in the Cuban Controversy on Material Versus Moral Incentives

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  02 January 2018

Carmelo Mesa-Lago*
Affiliation:
Center for Latín American Studies, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania

Extract

This paper discusses the Cuban stand in the socialist controversy on material versus moral incentives, placing emphasis on the role of economic, political, and ideological factors. The controversy is of fundamental importance for Marxist- Leninist theory, as well as for the implementation of such theory in socialist countries. Actually, the reference to “incentives” conveys the impression of a narrower scope than the controversy has been in reality. Internally, the type of incentives chosen affects crucial economic areas such as the method of planning, the allocation of resources, the distribution system, the use of money, the organization of the enterprise, and even the criteria for appointing managers. In the political sphere, the incentive decision affects political control, mass mobilization, people's participation in the decision-making process, and the degree of consensus.

Type
Research Article
Copyright
Copyright © University of Miami 1972

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

Adler, R. (1969) “Cultural life in Cuba thriving despite government's reins.” New York Times (February 10).Google Scholar
Asia Research Centre (1969) The Great Cultural Revolution in China. Rutland.Google Scholar
Avila, L. (1968a) “Las respuestas de Cain.” Verde Olivo 9 (November 3): 1718.Google Scholar
Avila, L. (1968b) “Las provocaciones de Padilla.” Verde Olivo 9 (November 10): 1618.Google Scholar
Avila, L. (1968c) “Antón se va a la guerre.” Verde Olivo 9 (November 17): 1618.Google Scholar
Avila, L. (1968d) “Sobre algunas corrientes de la crítica y la literatura en Cuba.” Verde Olivo 9 (November 24): 1418.Google Scholar
Barros, J. (1963)Article in Comercio Exterior 1 (June)Google Scholar
Bellows, I. (1964) “Economic aspects of the Cuban Revolution.” Political Affairs 43 (February).Google Scholar
Bettleheim, C. (1969) “On the transition between capitalism and socialism.” Monthly Rev. 20 (March): 110.Google Scholar
Bettleheim, C. (1964) “Formas y métodos de la planificación socialista y nivel de desarrollo de las fuerzas productivas.” Cuba Socialista 4 (April): 5178.Google Scholar
Bicanic, R. (1966) “Economics of socialism in a developing country.” Foreign Affairs 44 (July): 633650.Google Scholar
Bohemia (1967) April 14.Google Scholar
Campbell, R. (1966) Soviet Economic Power: Its Organization, Growth and Challenge. Boston: Houghton-Mifflin.Google Scholar
Cantrill, H. (1965) The Pattern of Human Concerns. New Brunswick, N.J.: Rutgers Univ. Press.Google Scholar
Casals, L. (1971) “Literature and society,” chapter 16 of Mesa-Lago, C. (ed.) Revolutionary Change in Cuba Pittsburgh, Pa.: Univ. of Pittsburgh Press.Google Scholar
Castro, F. (1971) “Speech in the rally to celebrate May Day.” Granma Weekly Rev. (May 16): 78.Google Scholar
Castro, F. (1970a) “Speech at the closing session of the national plenary meeting of basic industry.” Granma Weekly Rev. (December 20): 3.Google Scholar
Castro, F. (1970b) “Franco debate obrero sobre ausentismo y trabajo voluntario.” Granma (September 8): 5.Google Scholar
Castro, F. (1969) “Discurso en el acto conmemorativo del 13 de marzo de 1957.” Granma Revista Semanal (March 16): 2 ff.Google Scholar
Castro, F. (1968a) “Discurso en el onceno aniversario de la acción del 13 de marzo.” Granma Revista Semanal (March 24).Google Scholar
Castro, F. (1968b) “Discurso analizando los eventos en Checoslavaquia.” Granma Revista Semanal (August 25): 14.Google Scholar
Castro, F. (1968c) “Discurso en el acto conmemorativo del VIII aniversario do los CDR'” Granma Revista Semanal (September 29): 5.Google Scholar
Castro, F. (1966a) “Discurso de clausura del XII Congreso de la CTC.” El Mundo (August 30): 79.Google Scholar
Castro, F. (1966b) “Discurso en la conmemoración del VI aniversario de la fundación de los Comités de Defensa de la Revolución.” El Mundo (September 29): 56, 9.Google Scholar
Castro, F. (1965a) “Plan de premios a los mejores macheteros de la V zafra.” El Mundo (January 22): 16.Google Scholar
Castro, F. (1965b) Article in Granma (December 29).Google Scholar
Castro, F. (1965c) “Discurso en el acto de entrega de diplomas a los trabajadores que más se distinguieron en la V zafra del pueblo.” El Mundo (July 25): 89.Google Scholar
Castro, R. (1968) “Discurso en el primero de mayo.” Granma Revista Semanal (May 12): 34.Google Scholar
Clark, J. M. (1969) “Cuban exiles arrived in the United States by nonconventional means: an introductory analysis.” University of Florida (unpublished)Google Scholar
CMQ-TV (1967) October 6.Google Scholar
CMQ-TV (1963) February 24.Google Scholar
Cortázar, J. (1969) “L'affaire Herberto Padilla: ni traítre ni martyr.” Le Nouvel Observateur 230 (April): 3033.Google Scholar
Cuba Socialista (1967) “Recesa la publicación de Cuba Socialista.” Volume 7 (February): 23.Google Scholar
Cuba Socialista (1966a) “El desarrollo industrial de Cuba.” Volume 6 (May).Google Scholar
Cuba Socialista (1966b) “El desarrollo industrial de Cuba” Volume 6 (April).Google Scholar
de Santis, S. (1965) “The economic debate in Cuba.” International Socialist J. 2 (August): 518524.Google Scholar
Dirección Central de Estadística (n.d.) Boletín Estadístico, 1966. Juceplan.Google Scholar
Dobb, M. (1966) Soviet Economic Development Since 1917. New York: International.Google Scholar
Dumont, M. (1970) Cuba: est-il socialiste? Paris.Google Scholar
Dumont, M. (1964)Cuba: Socialisme et Développement Paris.Google Scholar
Echarry, A. (1968) “Isla de Piños combate a los elementos antisociales.” Juventad Rebelde (February 14).Google Scholar
Evenko, I. (1962) “Le necesidad objetiva y el papel de la planificación en la construcción del socialismo.” Cuba Socialista 1 (July): 7189.Google Scholar
Fagen, R. R. (1969) The Transformation of Political Culture in Cuba Stanford: Stanford Univ. Press.Google Scholar
Far Eastern Economic Review (1969) Volume 66 (October 2).Google Scholar
Felker, J. L. (1966) Soviet Economic Controversies: The Emerging Marketing Concept and Changes in Planning, 1960-1965. Cambridge, Mass.: MIT Press.Google Scholar
Fernandez, M. (1964a) “Desarrollo y funciones de la banca socialista en CubaCuba Socialista 4 (February): 3250.Google Scholar
Fernandez, M. (1964b) “Planificación y control de la circulación monetariaCuba Socialista 4 (May): 7997.Google Scholar
Free, L. (1960) Attitudes of the Cuban People Toward the Castro Regime. Princeton.Google Scholar
Gaceta Oficial (1964) “Reglamento para la organización de la emulación.” Resolution of the Council of Ministers, May 5.Google Scholar
Gilly, A. (1964) “Inside the Cuban Revolutioa” Monthly Rev. 16 (October).Google Scholar
Glezerman, G. (1964) “Las relaciones económicas y los intereses personales en el socialismo.” Cuba Socialista 4 (November): 93110.Google Scholar
Granma (1971) January 11.Google Scholar
Granma (1970) “Organización y normación del trabajo en 500 grandes centros industriales.” (September 16): 5.Google Scholar
Granma (1969) “Proyecto de resolución… . ” (September 2).Google Scholar
Granma (1968a) “Cubana de acero.” (August 31).Google Scholar
Granma (1968b) “La vida del partido.” (December 11).Google Scholar
Granma (1967a) January 16.Google Scholar
Granma (1967b) “Asambleas regionales de la ANAP acuerdan erradicar las nentas al mercado libre.” (November 1): 4.Google Scholar
Granma (1965a) December 29.Google Scholar
Granma (1965b) October 8: 9.Google Scholar
Granma Revista Semanal (1969) “El Fórum logró acercarnos aún más a nuestro pueblo.” (May 11): 710.Google Scholar
Granma Revista Semanal (1968a) “Discurso en la inauguración de una nueva comunidad en el Cinturón de la Habana” (January 14): 3.Google Scholar
Granma Revista Semanal (1968b) April 12.Google Scholar
Granma Revista Semanal (1968c) “La microfacción desenmascarada ” (February 4): 12.Google Scholar
Granma Revista Semanal (1968d) “Discurso en conmemoración del 15° aniversario del atque al Cuartel Moneada.” (July 28): 35.Google Scholar
Granma Revista Semanal (1968e) “Los objectivos de la Ofensiva Revolucionaria” (April 7): 2.Google Scholar
Granma Revista Semanal (1968f) “Los comités de defensa de la revolución,” and “Declaración de la FMC.” (March 31): 24.Google Scholar
Granma Weekly Review (1971a) May 9. (1971b) March 28. (1971c) “Prime Minister Meets with Representatives from 487 Havana Work Centers.” April 25: 2.Google Scholar
Granma Weekly Review (1969) “Let's fight absenteeism and fight it competently.” (November 9): 2.Google Scholar
Guevara, C. (1965a) “Fidel Castro's new phase.” (A. de la Carrera). New Leader (October 25): 812.Google Scholar
Guevara, C. (1965b) “El socialismo y el hombre en Cuba” Nuestra Industria Revista Económica 3 (August).Google Scholar
Guevara, C. (1964a) “Sobre el sistema presupuestario de financiamiento.” Nuestra Industria Revista Económica 2 (February): 323.Google Scholar
Guevara, C. (1964b) “La banca, el crédito y el socialismo.” Cuba Socialista 4 (March): 2342.Google Scholar
Guevara, C. (1964c) “La planificación socialista, su significado.” Cuba Socialista 4 (June): 1324.Google Scholar
Guevara, C. (1963) “Sobre la concepción del valor: réplica a ciertas declaraciones sobre el temaNuestra Industria Revista Económica 1 (October): 39.Google Scholar
Guillen, N. (1969) “Discurso en el acta de entrega de premios a los grandores del Concurso Anual de Literatura” Granma (December 2).Google Scholar
Hart, A. (1969) “Speech at the graduation ceremony for the 1963-1969 class of the Department of Political Science at the University of Havana” Granma Weekly Rev. (October 5): 46.Google Scholar
Hoffman, C. (1964) “Work incentive in Communist Cuba,” pp. 92110 in Li, C. (ed.) Industrial Development in Communist Cuba. New York.Google Scholar
Huberman, L. and Sweezy, P. M. (1969) Socialism in Cuba. New York: Monthly Review Press.Google Scholar
Hughes, T. J. (1970) “China's economy-retrospect and prospectInternational Affairs 46: 6869.Google Scholar
Infante, J. (1964) “Características del funcionamiento de la empresa autofinanciada.” Cuba Socialista 5 (June): 2550.Google Scholar
Jackson, D. B. (1969) Castro, the Kremlin, and Communism in Latín America Baltimore: Johns Hopkins Press.Google Scholar
Joint Economic Committee [ed.] (1966) “On improving the management of industry, perfecting planning, and economic stimulation of industrial production,” pp. 10411052 in New Directions in the Soviet Economy. Washington, D.C. Google Scholar
Juventad Rebelde (1968) “Entrevista con Luis Mario Isaac.” (January 29): 6.Google Scholar
Kahl, J. A. (1970) “The moral economy of a revolutionary society,” in Horowitz, I. L. (ed.) Cuban Communism. Chicago: Transaction Books.Google Scholar
Karol, K. S. (1970) Les guerrilleros au pouvoir. Paris.Google Scholar
Karol, K. S. (1967) “A marathon talk with Castro.” New Statesman (September 22).Google Scholar
Komarek, V. (1967a) Hospodarske Noviny (August 18): 10.Google Scholar
Komarek, V. (1967b) Hospodarske Noviny (August 25): 11.Google Scholar
Lataste, A. (1968) Cuba Hacia una Nueva Economía Política del Socialismo? Santiago de Chile.Google Scholar
Lenin, V. I. (1950) Collected Works. Moscow: Institute of Marxism-Leninism.Google Scholar
LI, C. [ed.] (1964) Industrial Development in Communist Cuba. New York. London Times (1968) February 6.Google Scholar
Mandel, E. (1967) “Le grand débat économique.” Partisans (April/June).Google Scholar
Mandel, M. (1964) “Las categorías mercantiles en el período de transición.” Nuestra Industria Revista Económica 2 (June): 936.Google Scholar
Martin, M. (1966) “Informe central al XII Congreso de la CTC.” El Mundo (August 26): 5.Google Scholar
Marx, K. (1936) “Critique of the Gotha programme,” pp. 562566 in Marx-Engels-Lenin Institute of Moscow (ed.) Selected Works. Volume II. New York.Google Scholar
Maso, F. (1969) “Literatura y revolución en Cuba.” Mundo Nuevo (February): 5054.Google Scholar
Matthews, H. (1969) Fidel Castro. New York: Simon & Schuster.Google Scholar
Matthews, H. (1967) “Fidel Castro revisited.” War/Peace 7 (December): 3.Google Scholar
Mesa-Lago, C. (1969a) “Economic significance of unpaid labor in Socialist Cuba.” Industrial and Labor Relations 22 (April): 339357.Google Scholar
Mesa-Lago, C. (1969b) “The revolutionary offensive.” Trans-action 6 (April): 2229, 62.Google Scholar
Mesa-Lago, C. (1968) TheLabor Sector and Socialist Distribution in Cuba. New York: Praeger.Google Scholar
Monthly Review (1967) Volume 18 (February): 516.Google Scholar
Mora, A. (1963) “En torno a la cuestión del funcionamiento de la ley del valor en la economía cubana en los actuales momentos.” Comercio Exterior 1 (June): 211.Google Scholar
Moreno, J. (1971) “From traditional to modern values,” chapter 17 in Mesa-Lago, C. (ed.) Revolutionary Change in Cuba. Pittsburgh, Pa.: Univ. of Pittsburgh Press.Google Scholar
El Mundo (1967) November 28: 6.Google Scholar
El Mundo (1966a) September 4.Google Scholar
El Mundo (1966b) September 13.Google Scholar
El Mundo (1965) December 9: 11.Google Scholar
El Mundo (1964) “Comunicado del Primer Ministro y el Presidente de la República.” (December 9): 12.Google Scholar
New York Times (1968) “Cuba reports wave of petty robberies.” (December 8).Google Scholar
Nuestra Industria (1964a) “Renuncia el sistema presupuestario de financiamiento a la utilización de los estíulos materiales?” Volume 4 (June): 23.Google Scholar
Nuestra Industria (1964b) Volume 4 (July): 4347.Google Scholar
Nuestra Industria (1964c) Volume 4 (August): 23.Google Scholar
Nuestra Industria (1964d) Volume 4 (November): 2627.Google Scholar
Pascual, A. N. (1966) “Eliminar el ausentismo en las toreas agrícolas.” El Mundo (July 13): 4.Google Scholar
Primera Plana (1969) “Cuba, el poeta fuera del juego.” Volume 7 (May 20-26): 5355.Google Scholar
Problems of Economics (1965a) “The Liberman discussion.” Volume 8: 338.Google Scholar
Problems of Economics (1965b) July: 351.Google Scholar
Problems of Economics (1965c) August: 341.Google Scholar
Problems of Economics (1963) Volume 5 (April): 328.Google Scholar
Purs (1963) “Los estímulos materiales y morales en el trabajo.” Aclaraciones 10.Google Scholar
Quarterly Economic Review (1968) “Cuba.…” Volume 2: 23.Google Scholar
Radio Rebelde (1969) September 30.Google Scholar
Ramirez, P. (1969) “Cuba, a decade of revolutionary government.” Pennsylvania State University, (unpublished)Google Scholar
Retamar, F. (1969) “Hacia una intelectualidad revolucionaria en Cuba,” in Walsh, R. (ed.) Crónicas de Cuba. Buenos Aires.Google Scholar
Risquet, M. (1969) “En la clausura de la plenaria nacional de justicia laboral.” Granma Revista Semanal (August 17): 2.Google Scholar
Rodriguez, M. (1966) Article in Marcha (December 9).Google Scholar
Rodriguez, M. (1965) Article in Hoy (January 29).Google Scholar
Romeo, C. (1965) “Acerca del desarrollo económico de Cuba.” Cuba Socialista 5 (December): 19.Google Scholar
Ron, A. (1964) “Sobre el método de análises de los sistemas de financiamiento.” Cuba Socialista 4 (July): 6479.Google Scholar
Ron, A. (1963) “El contenido político y económico del presupuesto estatal.” Trimestre de Finanzas al Día (April/June): 3140.Google Scholar
Sanchez, M. (1963) “La implantación del sistema salarial en las industrias de Cuba.” Cuba Socialista 3 (October): 822.Google Scholar
Selucky, R. (1964) Literarni Novini. Prague.Google Scholar
Shkurko, S. (1962) “El principio del interés material y la remuneración del trabajo en la Urss.” Cuba Socialista 2 (November): 3839.Google Scholar
Stalin, J. (1955) Works. Volume 8. Moscow: Foreign Languages Publishing House. Suplemento de la Revista Trabajo.Google Scholar
Stalin, J. (1963) “Bases para la organización de los salarios ”(June 10): 910.Google Scholar
Sweezy, P. (1969) Letter in Monthly Rev. 20 (March): 1019.Google Scholar
Szabad Foldmuves (1968) February 17.Google Scholar
Trabajo (1964) October 15: 1315.Google Scholar
Vallier, J. (1968) “L'economie cubaine: quelques problems essentiels de son fonctionnement.” Les Temps Modernes 23 (March).Google Scholar
Vilarino, A. (1967) “Finanzas, diñero y circulación monetaria.” Teoría y Práctica (February): 2945.Google Scholar
Yglesias, J. (1971) “A Cuban poet in trouble.” New York Rev. of Books (June 3): 38.Google Scholar
Zeitlin, M. (1970) “Inside Cuba: workers and revolution.” Ramparts 8 (March).Google Scholar
Zeitlin, M. (1967) Revolutionary Politics and the Cuban Working Class. Princeton: Princeton Univ. Press.Google Scholar