THE ULTIMATE TASK of the leadership of any country is to find solutions to existing problems and anticipate some that are coming. The aim of the task is to improve the quality of life of the citizens.
At worst, this may mean maintaining the existing quality and at best, significantly increasing it. This presupposes that the leadership possesses some knowledge and understanding of the current and immediate past circumstances of the country.
The knowledge that is required to lead a country cannot be found in textbooks alone. It is a combination of the theoretical stuff and the application of knowledge. Confucius once said that “practice is the application of knowledge in life”. Practice obviously requires doing, preferably not in silence.
In leading a country, it must be obvious that someone, or some group, did it before. Therefore, there must be merit in understanding past circumstances and hopefully learning from them, once there is a willingness to do so. In fact, continuity is an essential factor of governance.
Continuity is also an essential factor in learning at the individual as well as the societal level. However, continuity does not mean doing things the same way, if it is recognised that the way is wrong. It is the duty of leadership to discern right from wrong.
Good leadership finds the right way to do things. When the leadership is of a country, then it ought to be clear that putting the country first is paramount. It is highly unlikely that a leader can outlive a country. Therefore, the former could never be more important than the latter.
Barbados had a problem for which solutions abound, in 2008. At that time, the problem was no way close to the one encountered in the early 1990s. The leadership put itself first and opted to pressure the people. The approach choked off the country, depriving it of the oxygen necessary to fight off the ailment, which previous leadership encountered and managed to the envy of others with similar symptoms.
In putting itself first, the leadership triggered the decay of vital institutions in the country. The leadership of some felt obligated to offer support, no matter the consequences. The leadership of others refused to speak up, thus sacrificing tradition. The compromising posture of once vibrant institutions produced one victim, Barbados.
Once mediocrity becomes acceptable, then decay accelerates. The best current example is West Indies cricket, which needs to be put in context. The decay started with the breakdown in excellence that resulted from the exodus to South Africa.
Like most things in life, including sports and politics, knowledge is passed on. This comes from interacting with elders and receiving the benefit of their experiences. Cricket is especially learnt by observation and interaction. Not one of the young boys in my village read a book to learn how to bat, bowl or field. We watched the older boys and the men.
While politics is not as widespread as cricket in terms of access to knowledge, there must be somevalue in being a student of history. There is economic history that is of relevance to political leaders. It ought to be embraced to learn from it, not just to recite it.
The reason why Barbados was so highly regarded is because the past leadership did the basic things well with limited resources. It found a way to educate the people. It provided health care. Government institutions functioned pretty well for the most part.
As in cricket, there are some basic things that must be practised if the game is to be played consistently well. There must be some alignment of the head and the body in batting and bowling. This alignment provides the balance necessary to repeat the basics, such that there is consistency.
In politics, there ought to be alignment of the head and the body to ensure movement in the rightdirection. What is right ought to be instinctive based on practice. The alignment should be learnt behaviour, unless the leadership lacks the typical socialisation.
In recent times, it is not just the decline in the economy and the decay in the society that have attracted much attention, but the failure of the political leadership to show certain instincts. It prefers to sit on the frail fence and wait for the next high wind, on which it can place the blame for the fence’s lack of balance or eventual collapse.
The men who provided the leadership for my generation did not remain silent for fear of victimisation.
• Dr Clyde Mascoll is an economist and Opposition Barbados Labour Party advisor on the economy. Email: [email protected]
