Во-вторых, первоначально не США Кубе объявили эмбарго, а Куба - США. Ознакомьтесь с историей этого вопроса, если Вам интересно.
В-третьих, я НИКОГДА не утверждал, что при социализме жизнь всегда была хуже, чем при капитализме. Но сейчас, В НАЧАЛЕ 21-го ВЕКА, тенденции таковы, что страны, где остался социализм советского типа или что-то к нему близкое, являются экономически отсталыми и развиваются крайне медленно. Почему - я предположил.
В-четвёртых, по сравнению с брежневским СССР вряд ли, а по сравнению с СССР 91-го года жизнь в России безусловно улучшилась.
1. В России стало жить лучше? Особенно тем умершим 8 миллионам? Это очень относительное суждение и я думаю, что многие люди с Вами не согласятся.
2. Что касается стран, развивающихся по соцпути, их душит капитализм, который давно уже стал наднациональной силой. Но, например, Китай развивается неплохо. А ряд капстран - например, Латинской Америки - хуже некуда.
3. Что касается кубинской экономики - вот что написано об этом в Encarta:
Cuba had a gross national product (GNP) in 1991 of about US$17,000 million, giving a per capita income of about US$1,580. Since then both GNP and per capita income have declined as a result of the impact of the dissolution of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR) on Cuba.
The revolutionary government that gained power in 1959 subsequently imposed a Marxist-Leninist system on the country, with almost all sectors of the economy state-controlled and centrally planned. Much of the property that was expropriated without compensation after the 1959 revolution belonged to US companies or individuals. The United States in 1962 declared a full economic and political blockade of Cuba. In response to these efforts to isolate it, the Cuban government turned to the Soviet bloc for military, economic, and financial assistance. Cuba became heavily dependent on other Communist countries for trade and aid, particularly the USSR. Sugar and, to a lesser extent, nickel were traded for oil, machinery, transport equipment, and consumer goods. With Soviet assistance, Cuba developed better housing, health, and education than anywhere else in Latin America and the Caribbean, and now has a lower infant mortality rate than many industrialized countries. There are more doctors per head (1 doctor for every 275 people) than nearly anywhere else in the world, and in education Cuba has a lower student to teacher ratio than France, Germany, the United Kingdom, or the United States.
However, the break-up of the Eastern bloc and collapse of the USSR in 1991 had a devastating effect on the Cuban economy that was exacerbated by the tightening of the US blockade during this period. Before 1990 Soviet assistance amounted to more than 20 per cent of Cuba's gross domestic product (GDP), while the Eastern bloc generally accounted for 85 per cent of the country's foreign trade. In particular it was the source of cheap imports, especially oil. After 1990 fresh produce and other food, fuel, fertilizers, medicines, agricultural chemicals, and a wide variety of other basic goods were either rationed or unavailable. According to official statistics, GDP fell by 35 per cent between 1989 and 1994, while export earnings fell from US$8.1 billion in 1989 to US$1.7 billion in 1993.
The government was forced to take action and the "special period" was announced involving the introduction of cautious, market-oriented economic reform. Steps were taken to transform parts of the centrally planned economy into a mixed economy along lines generally recommended by the International Monetary Fund (IMF). During 1994 and 1995 IMF representatives paid several unofficial visits to Cuba, underlining the important shifts in policy. In June 1993 restrictions on Cuban exiles travelling to Cuba were relaxed. In September 1993 the government authorized limited individual private enterprise in a range of 117 occupations. In October 1994 agricultural markets were liberalized with the aim of reducing the expanding black market; the move was subsequently extended to consumer goods. Other measures have included cuts in subsidies to inefficient state enterprises, selective price rises, the imposition of new taxes (including income tax on the self-employed), and moves to control the money supply and reduce the huge budget deficit. There were also some currency reform measures: Cubans are now allowed to hold foreign currency and a "convertible peso", initially at par with the US dollar, has been introduced. It is fully exchangeable with the dollar inside Cuba. The US dollar was made legal tender in 1993. There have also been changes in legislation to encourage more foreign investment, and to allow free-trade zones and export manufacturing centres to be established.
The changes appear to have had a positive impact. According to official figures GDP grew by 7.6 per cent in 1996, compared with 2.5 per cent the previous year. The growth in 1996, despite a devastating hurricane and flooding from subsequent tropical storms, was attributed to increases in sugar and nickel production. The budget deficit was almost halved between 1993 and 1996 to 2.4 per cent of GDP. Although the reforms are important, President Fidel Castro, Cuba's head of state, has insisted that they do not reflect a fundamental change in ideology. Thus, for example, almost all land and all important industrial enterprises are still in state hands. The Central Planning Board (established in the early 1960s) still develops and implements the five-year and annual plans that set prices and production targets for production, imports, and exports.
During the 1990s Cuba has also concentrated on improving its foreign relations, particularly with the EU, Canada, and Latin America, in order to increase trade and investment. More than 400 foreign companies are now operating in Cuba, with capital from 38 countries. The leading investors are Spain, Canada, France, Italy, and Mexico. The United States tried in 1996 to tighten the economic blockade further by passing legislation aimed at curtailing third-country investment in expropriated US property in Cuba (see Commerce and Trade section below).
> 1. В России стало жить лучше? Особенно тем умершим 8 миллионам? Это очень относительное суждение и я думаю, что многие люди с Вами не согласятся.
Умершим лучше не стало никак. Лучше это или хуже - вопрос хвилософский.
> 2. Что касается стран, развивающихся по соцпути, их душит капитализм, который давно уже стал наднациональной силой. Но, например, Китай развивается неплохо. А ряд капстран - например, Латинской Америки - хуже некуда.
Оказывается, капитализм совсем не душит "социалистический" Китай, зато во всю душит капиталистическую Латинскую Америку с помощью долгов. Так что дело не в капитализме, принципиально враждебном социализму, а в чём-то другом.
> 3. Что касается кубинской экономики - вот что написано об этом в Encarta
Очень мало там написано, но тезисно - Куба жила хорошо на советских харчах. СССР отдал концы - пришлось вводить элементы капитализма, чтобы не умереть с голоду. По-моему, всё в соответствие с моими предположениями.