( CNN ) -- In opposing President Barack Obama 's opening to Cuba , Florida 's Republican senator , Marco Rubio , explained , `` This entire policy shift announced today is based on an illusion , on a lie , the lie and the illusion that more commerce and access to money and goods will translate to political freedom for the Cuban people . '' Rubio has correctly touched on the core issue . But theory , logic and history suggest that he 's wrong in his conclusions . I would recommend to Rubio one of the classics of conservative thought , Milton Friedman 's `` Capitalism and Freedom . '' He does n't have to spend too much time on it . The first chapter outlines the `` relation between economic freedom and political freedom . '' The point Friedman makes in the book is one that America 's founding fathers well understood . Drawing on the political philosopher John Locke , they believed that the freedom to buy , sell , own and trade were core elements of human freedom and individual autonomy . As they expand , liberty expands . This is not just theory , of course . Over the last two centuries , the countries that embraced `` more commerce and access to money and goods '' in Rubio 's phrase -- Britain , America , then Western Europe and East Asia -- have moved toward greater prosperity , but also political freedom . If you exclude oil-rich countries , where money is not earned but dug from the ground , almost every country that has used free markets and free trade to grow is also a democracy . Yes there are a few exceptions : Singapore and China ( though the latter is still not quite a developed economy . ) But on the whole , there has been a remarkably strong connection between economic freedom and political freedom . In Latin America itself , the line has been clear . Augusto Pinochet 's regime opened up its economy in the 1970s . Chile began to grow , but that growth then produced a stronger civil society that over time clamored for the end of the Pinochet dictatorship . ( The same pattern could be seen in Taiwan , South Korea , Spain and Portugal . ) In Latin America today , democracy and markets have acted to reinforce each other , transforming the continent , which 30 years ago was almost entirely ruled by dictatorships to one that is today almost entirely ruled by democracies . Cuba is an outlier , one of the last regimes in Latin America that has embraced neither markets nor ballots . The Obama administration is acting on the theory that more commerce , capitalism , contact , travel and trade will empower the people of Cuba and thus give them a greater voice in their political future . And so the first point to make is that it will help Cubans economically -- it will raise their incomes , their standard of living , and boost access to technology . These are all good things in and of themselves . But easing the embargo will also help Americans , who will benefit from being able to trade with a neighbor . This is the reason that conservatives have long understood that free trade is not a gift bestowed on someone . It helps both countries and in particular , helps the United States . That 's why the Wall Street Journal 's editorial page -- bastion of conservative thought -- has been an advocate on lifting the trade embargo against Cuba , which is a far larger step than Obama 's normalization . So , did it support Obama 's opening ? Of course not . It turns out that he has done it in the wrong way . It is difficult not to think that the problem here is not the policy , but who the president is . Had George W. Bush announced this initiative , I have a feeling that the Wall Street Journal would be hailing it -- and Rubio would be quoting Milton Friedman to us all . Watch Fareed Zakaria GPS Sundays at 10am and 1pm ET . For the latest from Fareed Zakaria GPS click here .
Fareed Zakaria : The United States is not a democracy and it has never been one. Easing the embargo will also help Americans , Zakaria says . He says Rubio 's position would be different if Republican president had made the change .