A group of Cuban economists-in-exile have gathered at the University of Miami, and have been actively engaged in preparing studies of Cuban economic life. This massive volume is an economic history of Cuba from colonial times to the present, with emphasis on the quantitative factors of economic growth. The authors have assembled a vast amount of material relating to all areas of economic activity. Six hundred and five statistical charts are included, and these have been derived from a wide variety of governmental and scholarly sources. This extensive collection of economic data will serve as a most useful reference work.
The first section of the volume is devoted to the colonial period, but the major stress is placed on the twentieth century (1260 pages) and especially on the years 1902 to 1959 (919 pages). The coverage of these years is the heart of the book and the authors structure their material around three ascending stages; 1902-1927, the stage of sugar-basin expansion, 1928-1940, the stage of structural adjustment, and 1941-1958, the stage of developing diversification. For each stage the authors discuss various topics such as public finances, labor and social legislation, international economic relations, and the production of agricultural and industrial goods. The sheer mass of quantitative material makes for tedious reading, especially in those sections where the reader confronts pages of undigested facts.
The authors have provided a chapter on political history for each section. These, however, tend to be rather shallow and generally provide only a bare outline. In terms of their historical point-of-view the authors are very conservative. They use the term Spanish-American War (which was changed by the Cuban Congress in 1946), and are quite pro-United States in their treatment of U. S.-Cuban relations. A number of important works by Cuban historians are conspicuously absent, and the Revolution of 1933 is given very little coverage.
W. W. Rostow’s theory of economic development provides the structure for the authors’ economic interpretation. They picture Cuba as a good example of the Rostow model and conclude that the island had reached the “take-off-stage” by 1958. This provides an interesting interpretation, but it is questionable whether Cuban economic history can be neatly forced into any theoretical structure, be it that of Karl Marx or W. W. Rostow.
The main theme of this book is that Cuba did not need a socio-economic revolution. The authors argue that prior to 1959 Cuba was steadily advancing in all areas, and their basic purpose is to present a scholarly argument for a return to pre-1959 patterns (minus Batista). These matters will be debated by scholars for a long time, yet it seems to this reviewer that the authors present an analysis that is too neat. Indirectly they accept the Marxist interpretation of the causes of revolutions and as a result they do not really analyze the internal opposition to change on the part of some Cubans which helped to push their revolution to the left, or the support which Castro mobilized for a socio-economic revolution. The authors do blame the Cuban middle sectors for not playing a more active part in the political life of the country, but even this argument needs more analysis. Too many “whys” are left unanswered.
In the last analysis the authors depend too much on the sheer weight of statistics to argue their theme. As a result the reader sees little of the Cuban people. Arthur Koestler once wrote that, “statistics don’t bleed; it is the detail which counts,” and such detail is especially needed for any explanation of the complex phenomena of revolution. In terms of economic history the authors have made a valid contribution, but they have not provided the breadth of analysis which is necessary for an explanation of the Castro Revolution.
