New Cuban man
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The new Cuban man is the conceptualized "new man" model citizen described by Che Guevara, to be embodied by the citizens of Cuba. This model citizen was envisioned to be generally selfless; tirelessly working for little reward other than the greater good of developing socialism. The promotion of the new Cuban man occurred alongside growing arguments from Guevara, that Cuba did not need the "objective conditions" for developing socialism, as ascribed by Soviet economists, but instead that socialism could be constructed by promoting what Guevara often simply called conciencia (lit: "consciousness"), a self-sacrificial socialist mentality. Guevara frequently argued that moral incentive would inspire Cuban workers to produce more, and that material rewards like extra pay were unnecessary.[1][2][3][4]
The conceptualization of the new Cuban man as a selfless and strong revolutionary, became a justification for Cuban homophobia, as during the 1960s, homosexuality in Cuba was seen as a weakness and a capitalist disposition, thus homosexuals were considered to be innately failing to live up to the ideal of the new man as a strong socialist revolutionary.[5] The legal implementation of moral incentives in the Cuban economy, as per the "new man" philosophy, has also consistently led to economic inefficiency in Cuba, as moral incentives usually do not promote extra-labor as intended.[1]
National implementation
According to Guevara, a Cuban citizen could be transformed into a "new man", by adjusting the citizen's ethical relationship to the world. Self-education, conscious reflection, and new knowledge would assist in the transformation of citizens into "new men", and could rapidly be done by changing a society's folklore, popular ideology, and national history, so as to better promote selflessness as an ethical virtue. Cultural criticism was thus an important step in remolding culture into one which valued selflessness.[6]
In education policy, the promotion of the "new man" would be of highest importance in schools. Marxism–Leninism was mandated to be taught to Cuban schoolchildren, as well as a history of Cuba which frames the island as existing in one long continuous struggle for liberty. Through these lessons, Cuban schoolchildren were expected to become more selfless and radical in consciousness.[7]
In broader society, the veterans of the Cuban Revolution were to serve as the public models of "new men" for Cuban citizens, with Che Guevara as a sort of supreme example. The veterans were the promoted as the "vanguard of the vanguard", and the combat they faced in the Sierra Maestra was considered the original "school of the New Man".[8]
In economic policy, the transition to an economy of "new men", would be done by slowly phasing out material incentives for extra-work, and slowly phasing in moral incentives. Guevara proposes multiple strategies for this gradual transition. One strategy is by glorifying extra-productive workers, by offering them trophies and other congratulatory ceremonies, but not giving them extra pay. Another strategy of Guevara's is offering extra-productive workers with a reward that is a qualitative reward, which goes beyond money, like a free education. This education might allow the worker to perhaps one day work a better paying job, but would also allow them to intellectually develop into a more selfless human being. The other strategy outlined by Guevara, is that of offering extra-productive workers collective rewards. These are rewards that are not individualistic, but benefit the whole workplace, like a new dining hall, or other shared amenities.[9]
Nuclear war
Biographers of Che Guevara, Eric Luther and Ted Henken, have connected Guevara's "new man" ideal with Guevara's ideas for embracing sacrifice in nuclear war. Starting in 1960, Guevara began declaring that nuclear war should not be a fear of the Cuban people, since the sacrifice of nuclear annihilation will ultimately bring about socialist victory. Luther and Henken view both Guevara's "new man" concept, and the embrace of nuclear annihilation, as an overarching vision by Guevara for mass self-sacrifice, celebrated selflessness, and anti-individualistic collectivism.[10]
Rapid transition to socialism
Guevara often criticized pro-Soviet economists, who estimated that Cuba was not ready for a transition to socialism. Many of the economists of the Popular Socialist Party in Cuba, like Carlos Rafael Rodríguez, argued that Cuba was in a "semi-feudal" stage of development, and that a gradual transition to a capitalist stage was necessary for a later transition to socialism.[11]
In contrast, according to Guevara, the implementation of moral incentives, and the nourishing of "new man" consciousness, would allow Cuba to rapidly transition to socialism, without the necessary economic "objective" conditions as prescribed by Marxist theory.[9] This campaign of consciousness raising, and rapid transition to socialism, would be guided by a highly dedicated vanguard which would oversee the entirety of a nationalized economy,[11] and turn the country into "one huge school" of political education.[4]
This theory was Guevara's self-described "contribution to Marxism-Leninism", and also the theory which he then used to criticize the Soviet Union's style of Marxism–Leninism, for not fully embracing moral incentives in its economy.[9]
