Case Study Research Links & Task

There often is a gap between theory and practice. The ideas of communism and socialism are contentious. To many both economic systems in theory sound appealing. However, few of us have lived in Cuba, China or the Soviet Union, countries that attempted to put into practice socialist and communist ideas. Through your research you will be attempting to assess how well the theories of socialism and communism have held up in practice.

Your task will be to study one of these countries as a case study. Through your research you will try to answer the following questions:

What changes were made? Structures put in place? Consider the following categories: Government, Education, Healthcare, civil rights

How did life get better for people and how did life get worse for people?

Who benefited the most? the least?

Research Links:

Explanations of Socialism/communism/capitalism form different perspectives

Differences between economic systems

https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/the-fix/wp/2015/10/24/a-high-school-teacher-helps-clarify-socialism-for-donald-trump-and-you/

Socialist Movement Defines Socialism

http://www.worldsocialism.org/english/what-socialism

Bernie’s Brand of Socialism

http://www.dsausa.org/what_is_democratic_socialism

Socialism a bad idea

http://www.nationalreview.com/article/431071/socialism-v-free-market-capitalism

Definition of Socialism

http://www.investopedia.com/terms/s/socialism.asp

Cuba

PBS

http://www.pbs.org/newshour/updates/latin_america-july-dec01-life-in-cuba_07-02/

UK The Week Pros and Cons for Cuba

http://www.theweek.co.uk/americas/35627/pros-and-cons-communism-cuba

What is Socialism, Cuba, China & North Korea

http://www.investopedia.com/articles/investing/081514/socialist-economies-how-china-cuba-and-north-korea-work.asp

Socialist Perspective - Long series of Articles that answer the question: Is Cuba Socialist?

http://www.slp.org/pdf/others/is_cuba.pdf

Westerner in Cuba

https://newrepublic.com/article/120589/cuba-visit-1963-after-fidel-castros-revolution

Revolutionary Racism in Cuba
http://www.coha.org/revolutionary-racism-in-cuba/

Rights of Women in Cuba
https://flatdictatorproject.wikispaces.com/Status+of+women+in+Castro%27s+Cuba+and+the+treatment+of+religious+groups+and+minorities

USSR (see handouts)

Soviet citizen interviewe

https://www.marxists.org/history/etol/newspape/fi/vol06/no06/soviet.htm

Soviet Healthcare
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Healthcare_in_Russia

Soviet Constitution

http://www.departments.bucknell.edu/russian/const/36cons01.html

Soviet Education

http://www.revolutionarydemocracy.org/archive/anglosov.htm

China (see handouts)

Constitution of the People’s Republic of China 1954

http://www.hkpolitics.net/database/chicon/1954/1954ae.pdf

China Laws

http://www.johndclare.net/China7.htm

NPR: Barefoot Doctors in Communist China

http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=4990242

Is China Still Communist?

http://www.simplyshrug.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=64:the-myth-of-communist-china&catid=31:general&Itemid=50

General Information about Communism

http://cs.stanford.edu/people/eroberts/cs201/projects/communism-computing-china/china.html

Women in Communist China

http://www.china.org.cn/e-white/chinesewoman/11-2.htm