My greatest wish for the country in 2010 is that a clear philosophy emerges in the management of the Barbados economy, since there is truly no place for a “wait and see” strategy in today’s World where information abounds. If it was the intention of the government to play down the economy and play up the social issues, it ought to be apparent by now that the strategy is a losing one.
Unfortunately, after almost two years the transition from opposition to government has not been made and so the country has to suffer the indignity of being rudderless in its hour of need, and when attempts to steer are verbalized they wear the clarity of midnight. So imagine a ship drifting along an uncharted course in the midst of threatening clouds where darkness prevails and the captain shouts from on high: “we will wait and see it out”.
The transition from opposition to government requires a philosophy that justifies the change and unless the change is for the good in the eyes of those who brought it about, there will be mounting dissatisfaction. No one expects a philosophy to be stated without the use of some flowery words but ultimately it must have practical value. In politics, being in government offers the opportunity to add practical value to the flowery words.
The late Jamaican Prime Minister Michael Manley once wrote of Errol Barrow that he was the Prime Minister in the region in his time who best understood the nexus between political rhetoric and the delivery of social provision for the people. In essence, it is impossible to deliver health, education and housing, to name a few social services, without appreciating the need for economic resources. The two are inextricably linked!
When called upon to explain the philosophy of the Democratic Labour Party, Barrow said he found it difficult to reduce it to the written word, but still emphasized that Democratic Socialism –which is about planning and equality of opportunity – has always been fundamental to the party’s basic philosophy.
In terms of practical value, former Prime Minister Owen Arthur used a public policy framework that emphasized: 1) clarity of purpose; 2) certainty of incidence; 3) consistency and 4) cost effectiveness. When married with the philosophy of democratic socialism, Arthur’s policy framework provided the tools for tackling the country’s economic and social issues – thus the confidence during his time as captain. No one is perfect however!
Since we cannot expect perfection from our politicians or leaders, we can at least expect a philosophy which has practical value, given our history as a country. This is the sense in which Errol Barrow and Owen Arthur stood out as leaders, and leadership is what is required in 2010 and beyond.
In the 1971 budget speech to which I referred last week, Barrow’s declaration that he was an unrepentant product of the Keynesian revolution in economic thought was fortified by the steady relentless growth of the economy and the accumulation of surpluses which assisted in defraying part of the cost of capital expenditure during the decade of the 1960s.
This was the fruitful marriage of political philosophy with practical value.
In 1956, eventual noble prize laureate Arthur Lewis supported the notion that the accumulation of current account surpluses was Keynesian and indicated the extent to which a country was socialistic. Caribbean leaders committed to the principles of democratic socialism embraced the fiscal position, notwithstanding the threats posed by periods of economic recession.
Pardon the emphasis which I am placing on this matter, but I owe to my country to express the level of concern befitting the seriousness of a problem that has the potential to quickly undermine the gains of the past, if not acknowledged.
I profess not to have a monopoly of knowledge in this matter but I have the enviable position of writing a weekly column in the country’s leading newspaper. To forewarn is to forearm! No more wait and see!
