Comments on: Effort Justification https://www.habitablezone.com/2017/11/01/effort-justification/ Fri, 03 Apr 2026 18:20:54 -0700 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.3.1 By: ER https://www.habitablezone.com/2017/11/01/effort-justification/#comment-40509 ER Wed, 01 Nov 2017 14:03:47 +0000 https://habitablezone.com/?p=67611#comment-40509 In Cuba after the Castro Revolution, citizens were encouraged to participate in activities which were not necessarily mandatory in order to become part of the "in group". For example, you were expected to volunteer for extra duty, community service, security patrols, and other non-paid volunteer duties. This extra duty was not forced on anyone, but those who failed to embrace it enthusiastically soon found that their opportunities for advancement were limited and their motives questioned. If you did not actively help the Revolution, you soon became suspected of being a passive counter-revolutionary. In a related tactic, any obstructionist behavior, or opposition to the Party, even if obviously of a purely practical or non-political nature, was interpreted as an attack on the Revolution itself and evidence of seditious and treasonous behavior. Any criticism or protest, even if from a supporter of the regime, could be misconstrued as an act of deliberate resistance or sabotage. Dissent was dangerous, even if the dissent served the stated aims and principles of the Revolution. Any questioning of Party policy was immediately dismissed as an attack on the Party. Clearly, this atmosphere of enforced dogmatic acceptance was of great value to those whose primary interest was in advancing their own careers and position. In Cuba after the Castro Revolution, citizens were encouraged to participate in activities which were not necessarily mandatory in order to become part of the “in group”. For example, you were expected to volunteer for extra duty, community service, security patrols, and other non-paid volunteer duties. This extra duty was not forced on anyone, but those who failed to embrace it enthusiastically soon found that their opportunities for advancement were limited and their motives questioned. If you did not actively help the Revolution, you soon became suspected of being a passive counter-revolutionary.

In a related tactic, any obstructionist behavior, or opposition to the Party, even if obviously of a purely practical or non-political nature, was interpreted as an attack on the Revolution itself and evidence of seditious and treasonous behavior. Any criticism or protest, even if from a supporter of the regime, could be misconstrued as an act of deliberate resistance or sabotage. Dissent was dangerous, even if the dissent served the stated aims and principles of the Revolution. Any questioning of Party policy was immediately dismissed as an attack on the Party.

Clearly, this atmosphere of enforced dogmatic acceptance was of great value to those whose primary interest was in advancing their own careers and position.

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