Trading blocs or perish II
December 29, 2004
The point that was being established in the last column was that in regard to the formulating of trading blocs the Caribbean was way ahead of everybody in the late '50s.
The evidence lies clearly in the tenets of the manifesto of the West Indies Federal Labour Party that was presented to the Caribbean people in 1958 and to which our past great statesmen like Williams, Grantley Adams and Norman Manley were committed. That manifesto outlined the following vision and direction:
It demanded a Customs union to integrate trade policies in the region.
The need for equitable distribution throughout capital investments for industrial development.
It called for closer contact in the wider region with all countries and islands such as Puerto Rico, Cuba, Haiti, Suriname, British Guiana (Guyana), British Honduras (Belize), etc that have some cultural and/or geo-political affinity to the West Indies.
The establishment of a Federal Central Bank (much like the CDB that was to come much later).
A central Economic Planning Division.
A Federal Bureau of Standards to ensure uniform quality of West Indian products:
The manifesto called for the protection and encouragement of democratic trade-unionism, the establishment of a university (UWI) and the widespread training and development of skills throughout the region.
The teaching of West Indian history in all schools to affirm the moral sense of mission.
the manifesto called for the removal of the concept of big island and small island (nevertheless the concept of MDCs and LDCs persist up to now).
it also called for an exhibition of Caribbean arts and craft every two years (Carifesta is a direct outgrowth of this demand).
The manifesto even went further when it stated in summation the following philosophical view:
"A nation must have a constitution, but a constitution does not in itself make a nation. Neither does economic development nor political independence. The Federal constitution will bring together territories hitherto largely isolated into a single Parliament, but such a Parliament cannot by itself counteract isolation or remove the geographical disabilities. It must therefore be the object of policy actively to promote and encourage this growing sense of nationhood by all possible means..."
When you read this today you realise that we have gone no where, that our forefathers reneged on their lofty ideals, that they turned their backs on the dream of a democratic society of the federated West Indies in exchange for what has now come to be described as "political pragmatism," opting for independence without federation.
Nevertheless, the "moral sense of mission" is as strong as it ever was. And we will try to ignore its appeal at our own peril.
There are some cultural nationalists and religious nationalists here who, precisely because they promote fear rather than hope, may never come to see the light of the big picture. They certainly will be washed away given the sifting process of time.
As was indicated in an earlier column titled "Define Caribbean," this demand is no idle dream:
"This Caribbean entity is a subterranean, stygian reality that begs to be formalised given the rise of trading blocs around the world and the present efforts to put together a Free Trade Agreement of the Americas.
"Our intelligentsia at all levels should join the struggle to make this Caribbean entity a fact rather than describe it as 'chimera,' as one recent editorial did.
"We will be forced to come back to this subject over and over again given the rather negative and anti-historic position that is now being expressed by both the Jamaican and Barbadian leaderships.
"Imagine after all that has transpired here in this region people are still daring to ask what will political unity bring and are describing Caribbean unity as a song with no lyrics. The point that was being established in the last column was that in regard to the formulating of trading blocs the Caribbean was way ahead of everybody in the late '50s.
The evidence lies clearly in the tenets of the manifesto of the West Indies Federal Labour Party that was presented to the Caribbean people in 1958 and to which our past great statesmen like Williams, Grantley Adams and Norman Manley were committed. That manifesto outlined the following vision and direction:
It demanded a Customs union to integrate trade policies in the region.
The need for equitable distribution throughout capital investments for industrial development.
It called for closer contact in the wider region with all countries and islands such as Puerto Rico, Cuba, Haiti, Suriname, British Guiana (Guyana), British Honduras (Belize), etc that have some cultural and/or geo-political affinity to the West Indies.
The establishment of a Federal Central Bank (much like the CDB that was to come much later).
A central Economic Planning Division.
A Federal Bureau of Standards to ensure uniform quality of West Indian products:
The manifesto called for the protection and encouragement of democratic trade-unionism, the establishment of a university (UWI) and the widespread training and development of skills throughout the region.
The teaching of West Indian history in all schools to affirm the moral sense of mission.
the manifesto called for the removal of the concept of big island and small island (nevertheless the concept of MDCs and LDCs persist up to now).
it also called for an exhibition of Caribbean arts and craft every two years (Carifesta is a direct outgrowth of this demand).
The manifesto even went further when it stated in summation the following philosophical view:
"A nation must have a constitution, but a constitution does not in itself make a nation. Neither does economic development nor political independence. The Federal constitution will bring together territories hitherto largely isolated into a single Parliament, but such a Parliament cannot by itself counteract isolation or remove the geographical disabilities. It must therefore be the object of policy actively to promote and encourage this growing sense of nationhood by all possible means..."
When you read this today you realise that we have gone no where, that our forefathers reneged on their lofty ideals, that they turned their backs on the dream of a democratic society of the federated West Indies in exchange for what has now come to be described as "political pragmatism," opting for independence without federation.
Nevertheless, the "moral sense of mission" is as strong as it ever was. And we will try to ignore its appeal at our own peril.
There are some cultural nationalists and religious nationalists here who, precisely because they promote fear rather than hope, may never come to see the light of the big picture. They certainly will be washed away given the sifting process of time.
As was indicated in an earlier column titled "Define Caribbean," this demand is no idle dream:
"This Caribbean entity is a subterranean, stygian reality that begs to be formalised given the rise of trading blocs around the world and the present efforts to put together a Free Trade Agreement of the Americas.
"Our intelligentsia at all levels should join the struggle to make this Caribbean entity a fact rather than describe it as 'chimera,' as one recent editorial did.
"We will be forced to come back to this subject over and over again given the rather negative and anti-historic position that is now being expressed by both the Jamaican and Barbadian leaderships.
"Imagine after all that has transpired here in this region people are still daring to ask what will political unity bring and are describing Caribbean unity as a song with no lyrics.
We will have much to say in time about both the 'singers' and that 'song'..."
Part I
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