To survive the economic trauma caused by the demise of the Soviet Block, the Cuban government enacted economic and social reforms that are causing hardships in the lives of Cubans. This article shows that a synthesis of the theories of Marx and Mead provides a useful perspective for understanding Cubans' critical reflections on daily encounters that contradict abstract revolutionary values. Existing sources and qualitative data show a complex interplay between the abstract values of equality, communalism and nationalism, which have been incorporated into definitions of self, and Cubans' efforts to meet their needs. The results presented suggest that Cubans' incorporation into the self of revolutionary attitudes contributes to their reluctance to reject and criticize the revolutionary regime. For Cubans, the formation and expression of critical responses to the existing social system are all the more difficult because of the striking absence of alternative ideologies.
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.