I can’t even wrap my head around like China providing housing for people. Or Cuba with it’s free world class healthcare. My anglo brain only knows the misery of being poor and on the receiving end of the nightstick of capital.
Cuba has great healthcare for it’s level of wealth but I’d be hesitant to call it world class. It lacks a lot of the high tech medical equipment that exists in more wealthy countries. If you have some rare form of cancer, for instance, you’ll probably receive better care in the “west” than in Cuba. Assuming you can afford it that is.
What’s important about Cuba is that they flex the healthcare resources that they do have entirely to what is best for its people, instead of what is best for corporations. Preventative medicine is incentivized in a socialized system while capitalist medicine would rather wait until you get sick enough to require a procedure that they can charge a lot for.
I can only imagine what level of healthcare Cuba would be able to provide if not for the crippling sanctions they have to endure.
When I visited Cuba the most obvious thing I noticed is that I didn’t see anyone that seemed homeless (in Havana, at least). They definitely had shortages, power issues, and limited opportunities. But they had housing, healthcare, and food. Considering the blockade I thought it was pretty damn admirable. Yet in the richest country on earth we have tons of homeless people in cities full of empty houses. We have a ton of food and healthcare but many are denied it.
Ridiculous.
If you ever have the privilege of being able to take a vacation you can visit Cuba very cheaply. My flight from Miami was cheap at well. $100/wk accomodations in Old Havana. Very much recommend going. Very safe, the people are very sociable. Great city to walk around the neighborhoods.