Cuba

So Japan beat Cuba in last night's World Baseball Classic final. One of the last holdouts of communism falls to one of the world's most historically aggressive capitalist nations. That ought to settle the question of which economic system is best once and for all, eh?

I don't get the whole thing with Cuba—the trade embargo, that is. Sure, Fidel Castro's not the nicest guy around, and sure, communism is not a great way to go, either politically or economically. But why a trade embargo? It doesn't make sense. It seems to me that if we want to change the situation down there, the most effective way to do it would be to overwhelm them with capitalism. This example is unabashedly stolen from Jimmy Buffett, but it seems appropriate.

Let's take all the money our government spends on, say, one day's worth of welfare payments. Cash it in. Get small bills—fives, tens, maybe twenties. Load all that money into a stealth bomber or three, fly over Cuba, and let it rain greenbacks. Probably double the net worth of the entire country in a single pass.

The next day, take those bombers back to Cuba and drop mail-order catalogs. Jimmy suggests Victoria's Secret, but others would probably work, too. Maybe L.L. Bean, Radio Shack, even Swiss Colony. Result: the U.S. economy gets a boost, and the Cuban people get a real taste of the joy of commercialism. The desire to shop—one of the strongest urges known to humankind—leads to social and political change, and communism is out in the Caribbean.

Hasta la vista, Fidel.