Capitalism in Crisis: Globalization and World Politics Today [Paperback]

Fidel Castro (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: October 2000

Fidel Castro condemns the impact of neoliberal globalization on developing nations as well as the advanced capitalist countries

 

Fidel Castro adds his voice to the growing international chorus against neoliberalism and the globalization of the world economy. He calls for the abolition of the IMF and asks: “Why not seek other formulas and admit that humankind is able to organize itself and its destiny in a more rational and humane manner?”

 

Fidel Castro also discusses

*  the danger of a new stock market collapse

*  U.S. cultural hegemony

*  NATO’s war in Yugoslavia

*  US “war on drugs” in Latin America

*  the need to democratize the United Nations

*  the catastrophe of capitalist reform in Russia

*  the current state of US-Cuba relations

 

In the face of the “new world order,” Fidel comments: “To endure the global struggle between the super-powers is bad. To live under total hegemonic domination by one of them is worse.”

 

 

“Library shelves are full of books touting the wonders of globalization; perhaps there should also be room there for a dissenting voice. This volume collects speeches and written messages by Castro over the last two years… Castro has no objection to globalization; in fact, he considers it inevitable. What he objects to is the imposition of neoliberal capitalism in the name of globalization.” —Booklist

 

Editorial Reviews

From Booklist

Library shelves are full of books touting the wonders of globalization; perhaps there should also be room there for a dissenting voice. This volume collects speeches and written messages by Castro over the past two years. They include statements to the World Trade Organization (1998) and the Group of 77 (1999); presentations in South Africa, Venezuela, Brazil, and the Dominican Republic; and addresses at the Economia '98 Conference, the 1998 Nonaligned Nations Movement meeting, the 1999 International Culture Congress in Havana, and opening and closing addresses at the South Summit convened by the Group of 77 in Havana in April 2000. Castro has no objection to globalization; in fact, he considers it inevitable. What he objects to is imposition of neoliberal capitalism in the name of globalization (for example, in Russia). In addition to globalization, Castro celebrates South Africa's victory over apartheid and questions NATO's bombing of Serbia. Mary Carroll
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

About the Author

· Fidel Castro went into exile on his release from prison after initiating an armed attack against the Batista dictatorship. One night in Mexico he met a young Argentine doctor Ernesto Guevara. They talked until dawn, sharing their ideas and dreams, when "Che" agreed to join the expedition back to Cuba to restore popular rule. The rest is history

Product Details

• Paperback: 250 pages
• Publisher: Ocean Press; 1st edition (October 2000)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1876175184
• ISBN-13: 978-1876175184
• Product Dimensions: 8.4 x 5.4 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 13.8 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (6 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,201,257 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Fidel Castro Ruz was born in Birán, in the former province of Oriente, on August 13, 1926. Born into a well-off landowning family, he received his primary education in a rural school, later attended private Jesuit schools in Santiago de Cuba and Havana, and graduated from law school at the University of Havana (described in My Early Years and Fidel and Religion). As a student, he volunteered for an armed expedition against the Trujillo dictatorship in the Dominican Republic and was in Colombia to help organize a Latin American anti-imperialist student congress when the April 1948 popular uprising occurred in Bogotá. After Fulgencio Batista's 1952 coup, Fidel Castro organized and led an unsuccessful attack on the Moncada army garrison in Santiago de Cuba on July 26, 1953. While in prison, Fidel Castro edited his defense speech from the trial into the pamphlet History Will Absolve Me, which was distributed in tens of thousands of copies and became the program of what was to become the revolutionary July 26 Movement. Originally sentenced to 15 years, he and his comrades were released from prison 22 months later, in May 1955, as a result of a growing public campaign. Exiled to Mexico, he organized a guerrilla expedition to Cuba to launch a guerrilla movement to overthrow Batista. Arriving aboard the cabin cruiser Granma, for the next two years, Fidel Castro led the Rebel Army. On January 1, 1959, Batista fled Cuba. In response to a call by Fidel, hundreds of thousands of Cubans launched an insurrectionary general strike that ensured the victory of the revolution. Fidel Castro arrived triumphantly in Havana on January 8 as commander-in-chief of Cuba's victorious Rebel Army. On February 13, 1959, he was named prime minister, a position he held until December 1976, when he became president of the Council of State and the Council of Ministers. One of history's greatest orators, for nearly five decades, Fidel Castro has been an outspoken advocate for the rights of Third World and other oppressed peoples at international forums such as the Movement of Nonaligned Countries and the United Nations. A selection of his famous speeches was published in Fidel Castro Reader. On July 31, 2006, shortly before his 80th birthday, Fidel Castro handed over all his positions in the Cuban government to his brother Raúl. "Fidel's devotion to the word is almost magical." -- Gabriel García Márquez "Fidel is the leader of one of the smallest countries in the world, but he has helped to shape the destinies of millions of people across the globe." --Angela Davis "Fidel Castro is a man of the masses& The Cuban revolution has been a source of inspiration to all freedom-loving people." --Nelson Mandela "Fidel's is a singing and dancing intellect& In Fidel this passion is expressed in his priestly dedication to revolution." --Alice Walker

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

20 of 25 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars An insightful analysis of many 20th century issues, February 25, 2001

By A Customer

This review is from: Capitalism in Crisis: Globalization and World Politics Today (Paperback)

This book is a collection of speeches delivered by Castro at various Cuban and international gatherings, addressing groups like the WTO and the South African parliament. It does not contain endless rhetoric and polemic, but rather an alternative point of view on the issues of globalisation and the emerging global economy. Castro's insights are worth reading, because he speaks as one outside of the system, partly because of Cuba's socialist economy, but even more so because they are closed out of the global economy by the US blocade. The book provides an useful overview of the Cuban government's understanding of these issues as well: the third chapter gives an excellent overview of Cuba and its relations with the USA and the Soviet Union from the revolution to the present day. Overall, this book is an excellent source of information for those interested in Cuban politics. Besides that, it provides useful warnings for the countries involved in globalisation and First World-Third World relations--warnings that come from a leader who, due to his forced international isolation, cannot speak out for selfish interests alone, but with a view to the good of all mankind.

21 of 27 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Capitalism In Crisis by Fidel Castro, October 2, 2001

By 

Lynn Stover (Atlanta, GA USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Capitalism in Crisis: Globalization and World Politics Today (Paperback)

Many books written by Dr. Fidel Castro are difficult if not impossible to find in the United States; I felt lucky to locate this one. It is a compilation of many speeches given in different parts of the world, and in each one Mr. Castro drives home his point that capitalism is not a viable economic structure for the longevity of mother earth or her inhabitants. He explains at length the effects of neocolonialism, the loss of culture, the abuse of natural resources, and the ever widening gap between the "haves" and the "have-nots."

7 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Masterpiece of hybrid philosophy & reality., August 30, 2003

By 

Ryan Davis. (Australia.) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Capitalism in Crisis: Globalization and World Politics Today (Paperback)

As a lonely warrior who has fought for his & his people's dreams for years, Mr. Castro has exhibited his honest opinions on the capitalistic society & its catastrophic modus operandi in this era, which for most people who are well-enjoying their lives, are not AT ALL aware of.
The chapters of the books are organized in a seemingly logical way that educates and instil insights to the reader step by step. The content also lays out the important points of the development of capitalism, and of course, its gradual threat to humanity in a objective manner.
For those who doubt their existence and their un-conscious enslavement brought about through capitalism & hegemonic oppression, this book is a must-read option that opens your mind.