BARBADOS | Now that Barbados has become a Republic, David Comissong proposes a new “Republican Economics.”

BRIDGETOWN,  Barbados, December 4, 2021 - The Message underlying Barbados divesting itself of the Queen of England as its Head of State, and  distancing itself from its old British colonial trappings and becoming a Republic, is that Barbados intends to become as self-reliant, culturally confident, resilient, self-sufficient, sustainable, and as socially just and equal as possible.

AND IF THAT MESSAGE is to be actualized, it will call for the emphasizing of a strong strain of what I choose to call, “Republican Economics”, within the mainstream of Barbados’ traditional economic model.

The November 30, 2021 coming of the Republic must therefore call forth an enhanced and intensified emphasis on developing a new “Resilience and Sustainability” paradigm for our economy and society, and on advancing initiatives that are directed towards developing a number of more secure, self-reliant and self-sufficient spheres of indigenous economic production.

In addition, the establishment of the Republic of Barbados should direct us towards engineering a lifting up – economically and socially – of persons in the lower socio-economic layer of the society.

REJECT  CONVENTIONAL  ECONOMICS
I would therefore like to propose that our Barbadian strain of “Republican Economics” should not be based on the conventional approach to economic development !

The conventional approach to economic development, with its built-in notion that “Economics is about the production and consumption of goods and services”, gives primacy to the wealthy elites who command the so-called factors of production – land, capital, managerial skill, and labour that they have “purchased”– and tends to consign ordinary people to the role of being mere appendages whose function is to serve the system and the great commanders of the factors of production.

A  NEW  ECONOMICS:
Rather than tying ourselves to conventional economics, let us embrace a different kind of economics – one that does not take “goods” or “money” as its starting point, but that instead begins with and is built upon people.

As the great developmental economist, E.F. Schumacher, advised :- “let’s start with people….So, no matter how poor we might be, we have something to start with – ourselves, the people, our own ingenuity and labour power, and, of course, our needs”.

What Dr Schumacher was urging upon us was a society in which people who have manifold unsatisfied needs – who, in other words, are relatively poor and not affluent – will organize themselves for production : a society in which people will be predisposed (and facilitated) to get busy and produce for themselves, rather than depending on either the local elite “commander of the factors of production” or the “foreign investor” to set up an enterprise that will employ them.

This alternative approach of our Republican Economics should therefore be one that begins with, gives primacy to, and is founded upon the great mass of our Barbadian people.

Indeed, it should conceive of the people of Barbados as being the primary economic actors, architects and “owners-to-be” of the new economic and business enterprises that our Republic will be striving to create.

Our model of “Republican Economic development” should therefore be centred on the intelligence, creativity, mental prowess and physical power of our Barbadian people, and on their capacity to respond to and provide for their own material, social and cultural needs.

And if this is the case, then the very first objective of our “Republican Economics” would have to be the fullest possible development of the capabilities of the masses of our Barbadian people !

A  NEW  EDUCATION  INITIATIVE :
Our first order of business would therefore have to be to equip ourselves with a national education system – formal as well as informal – that not only is as socially equal as possible, but that also has a laser-like focus on developing the capabilities of our people to :-

* think creatively;
* engage in personal initiative;
* value and prioritize national self-sufficiency;
* acquire an understanding of and a commitment to the intertwined concepts of “Resilience” and “Sustainable Development”;
* master science and technology;
* conceive of themselves as pioneers and actors in a national outreach to CARICOM, the Greater Caribbean region and Africa;
* engage readily and effectively in entrepreneurship;
* master and readily utilize critical technical and vocational skills; and
* appreciate, reproduce, and root themselves in our unique Barbadian and Caribbean culture, history, arts and heritage.  So education and training comes first!

APPROPRIATE  TECHNOLOGY:
But the second order of business would be to develop a “national network” of technology development and adaptation institutions that are geared towards researching, organizing, promoting, and deploying technologies that we will need in order to develop new indigenous agricultural, industrial, craft and manufacturing enterprises.

I am referring to enterprises that would help us to respond, first and foremost, to our need to :-
* feed, clothe and house ourselves;
* protect our environment;
* convert our economy and society to a “Resilience and Sustainability” paradigm, inclusive of Sustainable Tourism;
* provide ourselves with electric power from renewable sustainable sources;
* provide ourselves with adequate water supplies, health care, education services, and other critical human necessities.
This proposed initiative may sound a bit complicated, but it could be easily grasped and appreciated if – as an example – we apply it to the sphere of alternative energy / solar technology.

So, we are talking about a network of local institutions collaborating with each other to develop Barbados’ understanding of and capacity in the field of solar energy and its several technological applications. This is just one example.

ARTS  AND  CULTURE :
Let me hasten to add, however, that we would not only be interested in developing a capacity in physical production.

There is also the equally important non-tangible, “spiritual,” area of the arts and culture as well! And so, we would also need to emphasize the development of a similar “institutional network” servicing the sphere of Barbadian arts and culture.

Indeed, it is critical that we preserve and further develop our unique Barbadian / Caribbean arts and culture – the source of the “inner wealth” that will deliver to our people an ethic of self-confidence, creativity, national dignity, self-respect and self-reliance.

And this – incidentally- is a critical component of the new, organic, holistic, “Resilience and Sustainability” paradigm that we should be developing for our Republic.

But the Arts and Culture must also be the content of business enterprises and industries – Cultural and Artistic industries. And so, we must also construct a “national network” of institutions and creative mechanisms or processes that are geared towards bringing together outstanding Barbadian and wider Caribbean exponents of the various art-forms –music, dance, theatre, film, literature, painting, sculpture etc.– with a view to them collaborating with each other, experimenting, and producing work and artistic products of outstanding international quality – work and artistic products that could be exposed and sold on the world market.

And here again, this proposal may sound a bit complicated, but think of the early Motown enterprise in the city of Detroit in the USA – a simple community-based, grassroots entity that brought together the young, raw, talented singers, musicians and songwriters of the black communities of Detroit, and facilitated and harnessed their collaborative artistic output.

If a single private grassroots arts entrepreneur was capable of developing such an outstanding “factory” of musical and entertainment talent, surely this cannot be beyond the capacity of a national government and a national society.

ACCESS  TO  FINANCE :
And, of course, the third order of business is to provide a source of public / private sector financing to help underwrite and support the establishment of the new locally and democratically owned productive enterprises that our model of “Republican Economics” envisages.

This will require us to develop new and innovative financial instruments and mechanisms to mobilize and leverage the financial resources we have stored in bank accounts and other depositories locally and regionally.

It will also require us to secure new sources and allocations of capital / funds internationally, and – once they are secured- to leverage them effectively and creatively.

And it will also require us to pursue our legitimate and righteous claim for REPARATIONS with commitment and determination, and to bring it to a successful conclusion – or rather, to a cumulative series of successful conclusions.

A  NEW  PHILOSOPHY :
Now, please take note that I am not claiming that any of these prescriptions are original or have never been advanced before. However, I do think that the coming of the Republic of Barbados provides an ideal opportunity to package and shape these prescriptions into a new social and economic philosophy for our country.

I also wish to point out that when – in September 2020 – the Mia Mottley administration used the annual Throne Speech to announce that Barbados would be becoming a Republic, they also listed a number of projects that they would be embarking upon – several of which fit the criteria of “Republican Economics”.

I refer to such projects as the –
* Educational Support Program;
* Industrial Transformation   Fund;
* Creative Economy Engagement initiative;
* Farmers Empowerment and Enfranchisement Drive;
* Vendors Market development program;
*  Co-operative Society Investment Fund;
* Commission for People Living with Disabilities;
* Affirmative Action Program;
*  Home Ownership Providing Energy project;
*  Water Infrastructure program;
*  Post Office Bank;
*  Renewable Energy Program;
*  Medical Cannabis industry;
* Junior Stock Exchange;
* Youth Development Directorate; and
* the System of People’s Assemblies.

These projects, and others that are even more specifically designed to advance the philosophy underpinning the concept of Republican Economics, must become part of our new social and economic reality in Barbados!

Let the journey of the Republic of Barbados begin, guided by a new Republican Economics!

David Comissong