Jamaica must unite for economic growth

THE EDITOR, Sir:

A leading member of the investor/capitalist class, Mr Gary 'Butch' Hendrickson, in a speech, recently said, "We cannot continue to wait for the bureaucrats to move." I would add to that politicians, trade unionists, religious leaders and intellectuals.

We know, from experience, that when it comes to politics versus economics or anything else, politics wins, and especially in a situation where our civil service has lost its will to say to an instructing politician/minister, "we will not act because that is not in the interest of my Jamaican people."

In the last couple of decades, leading civil-servant selections have been influenced or hand-picked by politicians themselves, or through mechanisms such as the Pickersgill Commission in the '70s. Now, we hear of the proposed introduction of a most inexact scientific procedure - the lie-detector test - which I have no doubt will be manipulated for the same purpose of selecting or eliminating yes-men and wimps.

One thing that amazes me, however, is that in this capitalist society, the capitalist/investor class has allowed our potentially vibrant economy to be hijacked by socialists and Marxist Leninists among our intellectuals, in media, trade unions, in the ruling Jamaica Labour Party and the Opposition People's National Party, leading to the continuous ruination of our economy, resulting in lack of jobs and an institutionalised endemic criminal subculture.

"We must have the active support and participation of the Government of Jamaica," Mr Mark Kerr-Jarrett said. This is true, but according to Mr Hendrickson, "If we have to, we must move them out of the way."

Combining Forces

For Mr Kerr-Jarrett and Mr Hendrickson to get what they want, the consciousness of our capitalist class must be developed to convince the working class to join in the struggle to create wealth for themselves and save Jamaica from further socio-economic degradation, while creating jobs and putting Jamaica back on the growth path.

The Hendricksons, Kerr-Jarretts, Issas, Matalons, Stewarts, Clarkes, to name a few, should allow the facilitation of workers and capitalists to unite while guaranteeing them a stake in the future prosperity of Jamaica. There needs to be a re-education of the Jamaican people, who could be reminded, with the assistance of respected intellectuals like Drs Don Robotham, Rupert Lewis and Trevor Munroe, that "socialism is dead", or Marcus Mosiah Garvey, that only a fool would oppose capitalism, as it has been shown to be the most productive socio-economic system known to man.

For a better Jamaica, the poor and middle classes must neither listen nor follow politicians who are determined to drive a wedge between capitalist and worker, hindering cooperation for progress. Jamaica is still the largest economy in the Caribbean and we need to take back our pride of place.

I am, etc.,

MICHAEL SPENCE

Micspen2@hotmail.com

Liguanea