New Cuban man

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.

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. 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.