Rosalea Hamilton | Why has people’s business been neglected?

After reading Michael Witter’s poignant description of ‘Neglect of the people’s business’, in In Focus, The Sunday Gleaner of September 8, the question arose: Why has the people’s business been neglected for so long? This inquiry led to more questions.

WHAT EXACTLY IS THE ‘PEOPLE’S BUSINESS’?

For me, it is rooted in the centuries-old pursuit of freedom, self-determination, and the desire to regain our humanity. It is the unfinished business of our ancestors. The main manifestation of this is the business of raising one’s standard of living on terms that are just and humane. For centuries, many Jamaicans have engaged the “people’s business” against the odds in a system that was never designed to empower them. The people’s business also includes activities to defend the rights and freedoms of our people to pursue their business. This was the business of Marcus Garvey, among others, who actively sought to create better options to improve the lives of Jamaicans.

After Emancipation, many followed entrepreneurial pursuits rooted in the agricultural Sunday plots. Today, entrepreneurs in the MSME sector are the backbone of the Jamaican economy, actively engaged in agriculture, housing, fashion, food, and more. Influenced by a deep cultural understanding that the “Babylon system” is not for them, many boldly engage in the business of arts, entertainment, sports, and other creative and cultural businesses. Today, many have found lucrative alternatives to “Babylon”, including pursuits in the diaspora.

WHO IS NEGLECTING THE PEOPLE’S BUSINESS?

There are two Jamaicas: 1) The “old Jamaica” seeking to maintain the inherited, hierarchical status quo where a few people at the top make all the key decisions and dominate the society; and 2) the “new Jamaica” creating an alternative society and economy, producing consumption as well as capital goods and services, that serves their interest and that of others. It is the economic pursuits of the latter that lie at the heart of the people’s business. The old Jamaica retains the idea that the majority of Jamaicans should serve the interests of the ruling class. This has contributed to the neglect of the people’s business and their desire to serve their own interests.

The ruling class comprises not just politicians! It includes big-business interests, senior members of the public sector, international actors that influence national governance and economic priorities, among others who hold significant political, economic, and social influence. However, leadership matters! With power concentrated in the hands of Cabinet ministers, led by the prime minister, the real power to support the people’s business lies in their hands. So, are these politicians just deliberately neglectful?

DELIBERATE NEGLECT OR SOMETHING ELSE?

For sure, some politicians jus nuh care! They go into politics to pursue their own self-interest and pretend to pursue the people’s business. But is this true for the majority of them since Independence? I hope not. Some politicians genuinely want to pursue the people’s business. But do they really know or understand the people’s business and how to support it? Over the years, many accepted the socio-economic and political structures as workable frameworks to deliver the outcomes people want. They think if they work hard or smart, and make the “right” decisions for the people, things will really improve for them. They ignore (or don’t understand) that most Jamaicans don’t simply want others to make decisions for them ... they want help to pursue their own path to self-reliance.

Those who understood, even instinctively, that the structures we inherited and perpetuated since 1962 are inherently flawed, have tried and failed to provide alternative structures or didn’t try because they just don’t know how to change it. Many simply conclude: Ah suh de ting set!

For sure, our society is complex! There is no “silver bullet” or campaign promises that will solve our problems in the short run. Jamaica’s journey to our current state of affairs is a 500-year journey with nuff potholes along the way. Using that lens, the last 62 years is a short timeframe to reconfigure our minds, the institutions we shape, and the resultant socio-economic and political structures that were never configured to serve the people’s business. However, it is the most significant timeframe. This is the period in which Jamaicans (not foreigners) held the reins of power and resources that could support the people’s business. Perhaps different choices could have been made if there was a better understanding of the “people’s business” and how to support it.

‘PAYING MIND’ TO PEOPLE’S BUSINESS

First, the people must be empowered to make the important decisions to improve their own business and to find their own solutions to the problems they face. This is not a new idea. Both political parties, especially the PNP, have embraced the idea of “people power” since Independence as evident in their election manifestos. But neither party has provided adequate mechanics to achieve “people power”. These promises cannot be fulfilled unless key constitutional/legal and related economic policies and institutional changes are made to give real meaning to “people power”. Political leaders must have confidence that our people can find innovative solutions to intractable problems like crime, poor-quality education, and the trade deficit. Bottom-up solutions to these problems lie in the hands of our people in communities across Jamaica. Our musicians and athletes are among the best manifestations of what is possible when we unleash this potential in communities across Jamaica.

We now have a chance to pursue “meaningful and comprehensive” changes to the Constitution. We must change the provisions in the Constitution that centralise power and include provisions to decentralise power to people in communities. Here, provisions to improve parliamentary oversight and to limit the size of the Cabinet are critical. Explicit rights are also required to empower individuals and communities to pursue a self-determined path to improve living standards. These rights were embedded in Garvey’s Declaration of the Rights of the Negro Peoples of the World in 1920 and later in the 1948 Universal Declaration of Human Rights (Article 21.1). Ultimately, joint decision- making mechanisms are essential to enforcing these rights and shaping social and economic policies to support the people’s business.

Constitutional change is necessary but not sufficient to properly address the people’s business. We must emancipate our minds! We must actively demand better people-centred policies and hold elected official accountable for delivering these policies in a sustained, persistent way. Make no mistake. This is not a short-run, political-term agenda. The demand to change the institutions and structures to properly address the people’s business has been, and continues to be, an intergenerational demand pursued by Marcus Garvey and others. Some of us will continue to mind our own personal business and will excel at the highest levels of society in Jamaica and abroad. However, more of us must continue to be our “brother and sister’s keeper.” We all must do more to “pay mind” to people’s business!

Rosalea Hamilton, PhD, is founding director, Institute of Law & Economics. Send feedback to rosaleahamilton@gmail.com and columns@gleanerjm.com.