Review of Book: The Knowledge Economy and Socialism: Science and Society in Cuba
HOW WAS IT possible for Cuba, a small island which has suffered the longest and most severe sanctions of any country in modern history, to achieve world-wide recognition as a leader in the field of biotechnology? In this book, Agustín Lage Dávila shares his reflections on his experience as director of the Centre of Molecular Immunology (CMI) in Cuba since 1991, shedding light on this question while illuminating much more besides.
Based on articles written by Lage between 1994 and 2013, the book’s topics include the role of science in the construction of socialism, the consequences for science in a world dominated by a neoliberal capitalist economic system, and the impact of Cuban revolutionary culture on its approach to science.
The chapter on Lage’s experience of local development projects in the municipality of Yaguagay demonstrates that the impact of Cuba’s approach to science and knowledge management is not confined to the laboratory. There is nothing polemical about this book – rather we are invited to read what Lage calls ‘grapple-writing’, a sort of record of real-time thinking and analysis. This extended edition, first published in Cuba in 2013, concludes with a chapter of questions from readers with answers from the author.
With knowledge now playing a growing role in the production of goods and services in all sectors of the global and national economies, Lage argues that it has become a productive resource akin to that of land, machinery, raw materials and capital during the feudal and industrial periods. This makes the production of knowledge, and its potential benefits, ripe for expropriation and increasingly divorced from society and culture. Knowledge, and its generation throughout the world in universities, research and development institutions and private companies, is being privatised through intellectual property rights, patents, and a myriad of legal and contractual mechanisms.
Moreover, the book suggests that the modus operandi of knowledge production in profit-driven market economies is detrimental to the quality and scope of knowledge produced. Knowledge production is a continuous process, with new knowledge building on previous knowledge, that is, it is social in character. If knowledge sharing is restricted by patents and intellectual property rights, the production of new knowledge is hampered. Science benefits from a diversity of perspectives, the combination of existing knowledge and, hence, a connected network of scientists. This leads Lage to suggest that capitalism itself is an obstacle to the production of new knowledge, as it concentrates it in fewer and fewer hands.
This is a problem for which the profit seeking property ownership model has no answers. Property relations in Cuba differ in important ways from those of market driven economies, and Lage proposes that this forms the basis of Cuba’s success in science and innovation. Scientific research is organised specifically to foster cross-fertilisation of ideas, international cooperation, and is embedded in a culture of working for the benefit of society rather than profit maximisation.
Furthermore, Cuba promotes the arts, not as high culture, but as a part of everyday life to be engaged in by everyone. Lage admits that it is difficult to measure the impact of the promotion of creativity on knowledge production, and he believes that Cuba cannot claim that its scientists are exceptionally intelligent. The differentiating factor, Lage asserts, presenting Cuba’s Centre of Molecular Immunology as a case study, is the way in which science is integrated into the economy while preserving its social character.
To sustain investment in education and research facilities, Cuba must export, and Lage devotes a chapter of the book to exploring the reasons for Cuba’s success in exporting biotechnical products, providing a frank account of the risks and challenges this entails.
The book’s political heart is the chapter which discusses national sovereignty and begins with a succinct history of the nation state. Lage views Cuban sovereignty as a safeguard of Cuba’s social project, protecting it from neoliberal capitalism and the ills it has wrought on the ‘underdeveloped’ world.
The book is written with humility and frankness. It is wide-ranging and provides an illuminating insight into the challenges and opportunities that the knowledge economy presents for Cuba. While it takes some effort to read and digest, the reader’s efforts are well-rewarded.
Lauren Collins for CubaSi magazine July 2024
