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by Ralph Jemmott
It seems like not so long ago Barbados appeared to be on very secure footing. We were told rather flatteringly by no less a person than United Nations’ Secretary General Kofi Annan, that we “punched above our weight.” It was also asserted that as a country, Barbados was approaching something called ‘first-world status,’ whatever that was.
Indeed there was superficial evidence that in the region we were somehow, a cut above the rest. Our two party democracy was stable, our economy was sufficiently buoyant, our human capital resources were high and our society was stable, ostensibly immune from the deviance and criminal violence that plagued other territories in the Caribbean. The standard of living in Barbados appeared comparatively high given our obvious lack of natural mineral resources.
Other countries in the Caribbean looked on with envy and there was talk of a kind of “Barbadian exceptionalism”, the so-called “Idea of Barbados”. A reviewer of Professor Michael Howard’s text “The Economic Development of Barbados” spoke to the Barbadian polity as “a standout developing country”.
Even the most jingoistic Barbadian would not deny that in September 2022, to use a cricketing term, some of the shine has gone off the ball. Looking back some might have observed that the “Idea of Barbados” possessed only the cogency of myth. Truth be told, Barbados was always a small, highly dependent open economy vulnerable to exogenous shocks of which there have been many.
For sure much of our current distress is economic and much caused by constraints originating in the global capitalist economy in which we have to function. A confluence of external factors from the COVID 19 pandemic to the Russia-Ukraine conflict, creating supply-chain problems and rising fuel price worldwide have placed us in a situation of extreme vulnerability.
The country held together because of reasonably sound pragmatic politics that eschewed extreme divisive ideologies. Most of all its underlying values consensus congealed, guaranteeing us some sense of law and order. In spite of the racial divide, trust based on consensual values and a penchant for compromise held us together, overcoming the centrifugal forces that tend to tear societies apart.
Economic problems remain at the centre of our present distress. With tourism and foreign direct investment still below pre-pandemic levels, the country has been forced to borrow to sustain development and promote employment. That money has to be repaid in earned foreign currency.
The answer as we all know is to grow the economy, to create what Professor Justin Robinson calls “new economic growth catalysts”. It is difficult to ascertain with any degree of certainty what would provide such catalysts. In his article “The Economic Growth Challenge”, Robinson himself has noted that cumulative growth between 2000 and 2021 was a mere 1.42 percent. This he concludes would mean that “in real terms at the end of 2021 the economy was essentially the same size as it was in 2000.”
It is no longer palatable to talk of values, but I have become something of a cultural determinist. I think that most of the current crises in Barbados are a consequence of the shifting sands of our culture. Apart from the rising cost of living the main present concern is the rising level of gun violence and general social disorder to a level not previously witnessed in Barbados.
In terms of social breakdown, it used to be said that Barbados was a relatively well-kept dwelling in a generally run-down neighbourhood. Apparently no longer so. In the spate of four days Barbados witnessed four gang-related violent deaths. A measure of social insecurity has now been added to the ongoing level of economic and financial misgivings.
It is interesting that our Prime Minister, a lady not known for her reticence, has said nothing on this matter. On the other hand her Attorney General hardly ever seems convincing. The Police Chief reassures us that the Police Force is in control. Let’s hope that is the reality
The fear always was that prolonged economic stagnation would be followed by psycho-social slippage. Truth be told, there was evidence of social decay even before the economy began to show signs of slowing. COVID-19 may have exacerbated aspects of social dislocation, but the pandemic certainly did not cause it. Barbadians, collectively or as individuals, are reluctant to subject themselves to critical self-examination. We fall back on self-justifying myths such as the notion that we have one of the best education systems ‘in the world’ with a high literacy rate of 99.999 percent, or whatever we used to boast about.
But since 1966 neither party that has formed the government of Barbados has shown any indication of the kind of society it wanted to create beyond educational provisioning and welfare offering for the less fortunate. In relation to law and order legislation was passed and either not consistently enforced or not at all. As social deviance increased, the law courts were overwhelmed because no one seemed to recognise that they now had to deal with quantitatively and qualitatively different levels of crime. Our highest Court of Appeal, the Caribbean Court of Justice (CCJ) has condemned in very strong terms, the slow pace at which justice is meted out in Barbados. A memorable quotation says, “if Justice is not speedily executed, men hath it in their hearts to do evil.”
We talk of the Singapore model of development seemingly unconscious of the fact that Lee Kwan Yew’s model was as much a socio-cultural as it was an economic model. In Barbados the word “culture” has now become synonymous with cheap rowdy entertainment, more specifically with Crop Over. Culture in the more meaningful sense of the term implies the cultivation of the values, attitudes and sensibilities that a society deems necessary for its upliftment. Entertainment is for enjoyment and life, short as it is, to be enjoyed in both its sacred and profane aspects.
However, the profane should never be allowed to obscure the sacred-reverential tenor of life. Once a society begins to slip and slide it is extremely difficult to stop the inevitable collision. I never tire of quoting Lloyd Best’s assertion that “in the Caribbean our problems are more cultural than technical.” Of course, ‘cultural’ is here used in the more meaningful sense of the word. When I quote Lloyd Best, a Trinidadian friend reminds me that towards the end Best’s writings became so abstruse, that even Lloyd Best didn’t understand what Lloyd Best was saying.
Ralph Jemmott is a retired educator and regular contributor on social issues.
