Certain elements in Tunisia took up the call for more recognition and freedom. It was a call coming from the disenfranchised people that wanted to enjoy the benefits that a society might have to offer and that they were unable to get. A humble man immolated himself and started the Arab Spring. Since then, the gods on Mount Olympus have fallen and, instead of feasting on ambrosia, they are now fighting for their lives and answerable for their atrocities.
I was pleasantly surprised to see that what is happening in Tunisia, Egypt, Libya, Yemen, Bahrain and Syria seems to be heading for Barbados.
Here in Barbados a clarion “call to oppose” has been predicted by no less a person than All Ah We Is One.
That the university political scientist has aired this view, and not the Wild Coot, gives sound and reasoned voice to it.
He said in the DAILY NATION: “The crisis in health care provision therefore extends beyond the minister’s inherent neoliberalism. A critical moment has arrived. Neoliberalism will be reversed, but only following a decisive moment of mass social democratic resistance.”
I wonder what he means. He should elaborate.
While the goodly gentleman has singled out health care, I think that the issue goes further. It involves the general management of the country. It is lopsided.
As a case in point, let us look at the recent shuffling of Government duties. I was expecting that measures would be taken to reduce the Government cost to the society, but not so. In a situation where there is a serious disparity between the inflow of taxes and the expanding deficit our Government is still endeavouring to maintain and even increase the status quo.
There seems to be some misallocation of priorities when there is an increase in Government spending on an already burgeoning Civil Service and Government ministries, and the neoliberal move to target the cost of health services more and more on to an already overburdened public.
But what are Mr Comissiong and All Ah We Is One getting at? “Liberalism” is according to the dictionary “the disposition to change or reform what is established, as in religion or politics; specific principles and practices developed by advocates of political change”.
Neo comes from Greek “neos” meaning new. One would have expected anything new would be to the benefit of an increasing section of our society. Thus the “call to oppose” that seems to be in the air is an awakening of the effort to mobilize support for some early opposition action to what the minister has done.
There is no doubt that when one gets old, certain maladies manifest themselves even if one is a Government official. That the average life span of our society is increasing is a fact of life. Therefore our priorities should be targeted towards helping persons in this category by making their existence easier, not harder.
Recent changes have spawned a potpourri of hardships for the indigent, the sick and old people. A cabinet hopscotch tinkering is certainly not cutting ice and obvious effort to buttress positions are not the answer.
The Opposition, on the other hand, is blowing hot air when it calls for the Government to hand over the reins of power to them before an election is due. Without giving away their hand, they have to somehow convince the electorate that they have the ammunition to deliver, otherwise we would be swapping black dog for monkey.
You would hear at election time people saying about the Government: “Cuddear gi’ dem a break.”
I agree with the university lecturer and the columnist. This type of neoliberalism is to be resisted and if it calls for a Bajan Spring as against an Arab Spring, so be it.
