ABSTRACT
This chapter examines those lessons that are particularly relevant for persons or organizations interested in the issue of investment in one of those remaining socialist countries, Cuba. Socialism, invented as an antithesis to capitalism, was supposed to overcome capitalism's excesses and weaknesses. The rather narrow spectrum of political systems capable of implementing these economic elements, namely dictatorship, totalitarianism, authoritarianism, or neoauthoritarianism, are also antithetical to the Western forms of democracy normally accompanying capitalism. Socialism came in several models designed for differing conditions. The "best selling" form of socialism, generally referred to in the West as "communism," is the Stalinist model, conceived in the Soviet Union, reproduced in East Europe, and inflicted on a few non-European states. The Chinese experience may prove of special interest to those considering investing in Cuba.
