Democracy? What Britain Might Learn From Cuba

Cuban officials argue that their political and economic system is extraordinarily democratic. Most Western media state just the opposite, claiming that Cuba suffers from an extreme lack of democracy. For many raised in the West, their type of democracy seems to be the only, the inevitable or the ideal form of democracy, one that should be exported to the rest of the world. But democracy in fact is a multifaceted, contested set of concepts that has taken many forms over space and time.

By comparing the democratic institutions that have been developed in Cuba since its 1959 Revolution with those that are claimed for Britain, Graham Bell examines whether the quality of our democracy might be raised using Cuba’s experience.

Graham Bell is a retired secondary school teacher and a long-standing member of Conway Hall Ethical Society. He has wide-ranging interests, backed up by in-depth studies and has spoken several times at our Society. He has recently returned from his fourth Study Tour of Cuba, and is well positioned to comment on recent developments in the relationships between that country and the United States as seen from a Cuban viewpoint.

Doors 10.30. Entry £3, £2 concs./free to Conway Hall Ethical Society members.

Tea, coffee & biscuits will be available.