mikema63 wrote:The weird dissonance between "I wanted to go buy stuff" and "it's grand there is nothing to buy" is wierd but leaving that alone. It's obnoxious for you to be so enraptured by the quaint lack of an economy that the natives have. That isn't socialism that is lack of access to goods. What you find so charming is their poverty.
You misunderstand once again.
I forgot my M n Ms at home, and couldn't find this kind of candy in Cuba. But I DID find healthy whole-wheat cracker packages, and peanut brittle. Everywhere. Which is what I really needed for bike-ride energy.
I found sunglasses in Hoguin the first time I went and didn't have any. But the second time, when I was wearing sunglasses on my face and looking for a second and third pair for "gifts," no one had any. Or at least, didn't reveal if they did. (the first time, when I NEEDED sunglasses, the service person pulled out a box from under the counter).
So the type of shopping that is found in Cuba has little to do with our almighty Western purchasing power, and more to do with finding the things you really need.
I suspect that Cubans won't even sell you stuff if they figure you don't really need it. That may be an example of internalized socialism, which was, I think, the real objetive of Marx and his writings.