It was big news not long ago when retired Communist Cuban dictator Fidel Castro finally admitted that communism had failed in his country. He had, after all, spent decades promoting the myth that the island nation was some sort of "workers' paradise." But on so many levels - most notably the country's $20-a-month average wages - those claims were plainly falsehoods. The "Cuban model" just hasn't worked.
So, is Cuba ready to try a different approach? We can't say with any certainty, but it is interesting that in recent weeks Communist Cuba's government has started a long process of laying off roughly half a million government workers.
It is apparent to Fidel Castro's brother Raul Castro, who is the current dictator, that the government simply cannot afford to keep so many people on its payroll - even at practically slave wages.
The 500,000 people who will be laid off represent one-tenth of Cuba's 5.1 million-member workforce. Shockingly, the government employs 95 percent of the official workforce. But Raul Castro "has sternly told Cubans that they must stop expecting too much from the government," The Associated Press reported.
The Communist government says it will let more ordinary Cubans become self-employed in pursuits such as brick-making, janitorial services and so forth. They also are to be allowed to form farm cooperatives without official government oversight.
We are by no means ready to declare that Communist Cuba has "turned the corner" and is finally giving its oppressed people true economic freedom - or true freedom of any sort. But for the sake of ordinary Cubans, we hope someday soon they are able to shake off the totalitarian chains that have bound them for so long.