Insiders and Outsiders

Once made reality, this free trading area, FTAA, would become the largest free trading area in the world. There is only one American state that would be excluded for sure, The Republic of Cuba.

Why is Cuba excluded, then? Is Cuba not a democracy? What makes Cuba any less democratic than, say, USA or Mexico? Let us take a look at the official names of these states, and their forms of government.

Rep�blica de Cuba refers to the fact that Cuba is a republic (more specificly, a socialistic one).

United States of America refers to the fact that USA is a federation of (united) states, mostly situated in America, that are led by a president.

Estados Unidos Mexicanos refers to the fact that Mexico is, like USA, a federation of (united) states that are situated in an area called Mexico.

So, which of these three examples of American states are the democratic ones - that can declare another state undemocratic, and may therefore isolate it from the democratic states?

What is democracy? Democracy as a word is an English translation of an ancient Greek concept, demokratia, that was formed by combining words demos, people, kratein, to govern (deriving from kratos, power). Demokratia, as an ancient Greek concept, withholds an ancient Greek principle - the autonomy of people.

Today, demokratia, or democracy, comes mainly in five forms: a "liberal" one, a "competetive" one, a "Bonabarteistic" one, a "totalitarian" one, and a "technocratic" one.

All these five forms have their own distinctive features that help pigeonholers pigeonhole states under these five labels. When it comes to the three previously mentioned states, Cuba is a good example of a "totalitarian" democracy, whereas USA and Mexico are typical "competetive" democracies.

In order to point out the most significant differences between these two different forms of the same concept, it is noticeable that a "totalitarian" democracy aims for the equality of its people not only through the electing of the representatives of the people, by the people, but also through economical equalising. A "totalitarian" democracy, in which the urge to have individual, inequal possessions is collectively questionnised is often further defined as a "socialistic" democracy.

In a "competetive" democracy, a citizen is, above all, a self-made man, a person that has - or hasn't - found his or her position in a society based on "free competition". Citizens each possess inequal "values", based on their abilities, or disabilities, achievements, or failures, and economical success, or successlessness. In such a system, relations between people are basically business relations, which which is reflected in the political field, as well, where a "competetive" democracy is run by various business-related pressure groups and other lobbyists that act "behind the scenes", under the covers of political parties.

So, Cuba, USA, and Mexico, among many other American states, are all democratic countries. So what?

In fact, there was never even a question, whether Cuba is a democracy or not. There was only intolerance and prejudice on the behalf of majority, the "competitive" American democracies, towards the minority, the only "socialistic" American democracy. There was a phenomenon typical to democracy, a phenomenon that fights against the liberal ideals of democracy itself, the tyranny of the majority.

Also common to democracy is the fact that everyone is right, and everybody's views on everything are always correct. This time, many agreed on many things, such as the superiority of their form of democracy to that of disagreeing Cuban one, agreeing that it is necessary to oppress this disagreer into agreeing, to drive the non-conformist into conforming.

There are differing opinions, when it comes to pointing out the "best" (or "least worst") form of democracy, and there are multiple faces to whatever.

A "liberal" democracy is prone to "bargaining", and may also become a tyranny of the majority. A "competetive" democracy, with all its insincere features, is not far from oligarchy (that is definately not a form of democracy at all). A "Bonabarteistic" democracy is rather faceless, yet, it is supposed to be run by a single face. A "totalitarian" democracy may bring about a bad dictatorship. A "technocratic" democracy, towards which all present-day democracies seem to be moving, has never been introduced anywhere in its complete form, yet.

What is democracy? A word with many faces - insiders and outsiders.

It is apparent that Statian George W. Bush and Mexican-Statian Vicente Fox are insiders, whereas Cuban Fidel Castro is Mr. Outsider (just like Charles Bukowski was) who doesn't feel a sense of belonging into the pretentious group of insiders who have decided not to accept him. There is a reason to this.

Cuba became a democracy over 42 years ago, in 1959, when Fidel Castro, alongside with his comrades, overthrew the contemporary militaristic oligarchy. Since then Cuba has been strangled by its neighbours, whose statesmen have, from that moment on, been envious of the true talent in statesmanship that Castro has, comparing to their own mistalents. Adding to this, Castro is aware of things that some people don't want to be aware of, but he makes them aware of these things, anyway. Naturally, this provocates some of the neighbouring states that are, by the way, being governed with their most incapable statesmen ever.

- Per Kekle

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