Exile - Discussion: The Manley Years

[Historian]

Regardless of political view, it cannot be denied that the decade of the 70's saw the MAJORITY of Jamaicans rise in socio-political consciousness and being proud to be Jamaican.
The social barriers of colour, class, race and great divide were threatened and the reality was the status quo was threatened - whether perceived or real. I lived in Jamaica during that time and I neither saw, felt or practiced any of the "..downright hatred for successful, middle class fellow Jamaicans".
Call it what you want but it was a renaissance of Jamaicanism without which many of us wouldn't be where we are now. That era was quickly followed by the "get rich at all cost" -a return to materialism, another misguided politicla paradigm that economic prosperity would save us. Both have failed and we are now plunged into self-inflicted social, political and economic anarchy - funded, aided and abetted by the drug Barons, the Dons and the nouveau-riche.
We must be careful of historians who would care to rewrite our past.

Revisionist Historian Indeed?!

Exile: You remind me of the majority of proud black Guyanese who, to this day, sing the praises of Forbes Burnham. These Guyanese, while seeing (quite correctly) how Burnham raised the consciousness of the ordinary black Guyanese and gave them a sense of national pride, refuse at the same time to accept the fact that Burnham’s forward-looking policies started the destruction of the Guyanese economy to the point where today that once great country is virtually a failed state.

A similar scenario happened in Jamaica, and the social and economic conditions for both Guyana and Jamaica today are uncannily the same, although Jamaica’s social milieu is not permeated with the East Indian vs. Negro racial prejudice that is so prominent in Guyana.

What is my position regarding Michael Manley? The fact is that to this day, Michael Manley remains someone I respect highly for a number of reasons, not least of all being his obvious sincerity and love for his fellow Jamaicans.

I fully agree with you that the decade of the 1970s “saw the majority of Jamaicans rise in socio-political consciousness and being proud to be Jamaican.” There is absolutely no disputing that. I also agree with you that there was a “renaissance of Jamaicanism.” These are distinct positives emanating from the era of the 1970s.

Nevertheless, my statement in the first post (post #3 in the other thread if you’re using the Linear Thread method) is correct, I can assure you (I started this as a whole new thread as I did not want to be accused of hijacking that other thread and its focus).

The two obvious planks of Manley’s policies were (a) the redistribution of wealth among all Jamaicans (which you alluded to in your response to my post) and (b) the reduction of dependence on foreign investments and foreign ownership of Jamaica’s means of production. Both were necessary at the time!

Nevertheless, his policies ultimately failed for a number of reasons and so the decade of the 1970s saw the beginning of the destruction of the Jamaican economy and the wiping out of the economic gains that had been accruing from the bauxite, tourism and agricultural industries since the 1950s and 1960s. His utopian policies in an egalitarian framework was placed at the forefront of economic commonsense and, maybe not surprisingly, failed in its implementation stages. We’re talking about an era of policies that ultimately came to be regarded as somewhat shortsighted and so had to disbanded (the bauxite levy, for example). We’re talking about an era in which the middle class, so essential to every society, started to slowly disappear along with many Jamaicans whose presence in the country was vital.

Think about places like Grand Cayman, Fort Lauderdale, and so on, and see how places like those have benefitted from Jamaica’s failed policies of the 1970s. Again, my analogy with Guyana holds clear, as both peoples (Jamaicans and Guyanese) have today contributed immensely to the development of regional and foreign countries as a result of their “forced” outward movement.

Your name “Exile” is extremely ironic in the context of this discussion!!

Manley’s embarking on an obvious collision course with our great neighbour to the north was a fatal mistake. Rather than pursuing either a genuine nonaligned policy or, on the other hand, seeking closer ties with the North America to which most Jamaicans like to yearn for, our government chose to go to bed with the useless, pathetic leaders of the time, like Mozambique’s Samora Machel. I’ll never forget Machel’s public suggestion to the Jamaican government on what to do to local opponents of their policies (I’m sure you remember the famous “crocodile in the eggs” statement). Talk about errant foreign policies!

You surely must be joking when you say that you “never saw….any of the downright hatred for successful, middle class fellow Jamaicans”! Surely you cannot be serious! Were you a baby in the 1970s? My friend, I physically stood in business places on two separate occasions between 1979 and 1980 and heard the threats of the coming “takeover” after the 1980 elections! I stood and watched the thugs as they made their promise!

Nowhere is the failure of the Manley’s ambitious and well-meaning policies more obvious than in the state of the Jamaican economy by the summer of 1980. Thankfully, that United Nations institution that concentrates on short-term loans, the IMF, existed and so could bail us out when every other international lending institution was saying a firm “No”!

What you have failed to show, Exile, is the reason for today’s get-rich-at-all-costs practice, the blame for which you seem to be placing on the post-Manley era! In fact, it’s disingenuous on your part to ignore the contributions of the 1970s to what you describe as this “self-inflicted social, political and economic anarchy.”

The 1970s, and this is the central core of my rebuttal to you, did not bring Jamaicans closer!! This anarchy had its roots in the failures of the 1970s!!

Rewriting history indeed!

[Assasin]

good post.

Exile said he never saw the hostility to business people?
Not just business people but even some middle class people as well.

[Exile]

Historian, your analogy to "majority of proud black Guyanese" is misguided and irrelevant but further in your post you gave a much better overall picture and CONTEXT than in your earlier remarks (other thread). There were many mistakes and the international political climate was much different then with east-west, US-Soviet and Ja-Cuba links.
I was no baby in the 70's - be real... and I still maintain that the social fabric started it's decline in the post-Manley era. The phases recalled are:
Struggle for Nationhood and Independence - Norman Manley/Bustamante
Struggle for Equal Rights, Social Justice (local and international)-Manley
Economic Development Model - Seaga/Patterson
Deconstruction and Dis-establishment/Inchoate Period -Patterson/Portia/Golding.

The post-Manley era saw opportunities for national development sidelined for partism, cronyism and a total breakdown even before the rule of the Dons. There was always a divide in Jamaica - those who had (or thought they had) and those who would never have, the promises made in the 80's for "money to jingle in your pocket" by Seaga was never realized by the majority of working class citizens who supported him. Instead it was back to the '21 families' and politics as usual.

And we could go on.... My perspectives are CLEARLY different from yours, I do not intend to convince you otherwise as you are fixed in your views and recollection of our history. But then again some still say Colombus "discovered" Jamaica.

[Exile]

Did YOU see it? What is this? Go back and read my post.

[Exile]

For the younger ones:

All told, in their first two years of power Seaga and the JLP went about the business of systematically rolling back the reformist, socialist-leaning programs of the PNP. With the active help of his friends in Washington, Seaga sought to "turn the Jamaican economy around' by implementing orthodox free-market principles through what was billed as a "structural adjustment' program. Before long, however, the marketplace began to lose its magic. The impoverishment of the Jamaican masses worsened and disaffection with the government became widespread. For the majority of Jamaicans, the dreams of October, 1980, had turned into disillusion and nightmare.
The Breakdown
It did not take long for the dislocating effects of the JLP's "structural adjustment program' to have its ripple effects felt around the country. In terms of one critical economic variable, Gross Domestic Product (GDP), the situation turned out to be worse than when Seaga took office. Real GDP in 1985 was 21.2 percent below the level of the Manley years.10 Deregulation and decontrol had their most pronounced impact on the poor and middle class. "Freeing up' the economy meant price gouging and consumer rip-offs. As early as 1982, for example, the price of sugar had risen by 30 percent; the price of condensed milk, another staple, soon followed. With the phasing out of rent controls, landlords raised rents two, three, even four times what they had been when Seaga took office. A brief step-by-step review of the effects of the JLP's policies on various sectors of Jamaican socioeconomic life should prove enlightening as to why the electorate jumped at the first real opportunity to express its disapproval of the government.


First, the policy of liberalized imports had an adverse effect on the country's trade balance. Using Davies' figures (which he obtained from published government sources), the trade deficit increased to over $500 million in 1981 (Seaga's first year in office) from $213 million in 1980. It increased even further to approximately $600 million in 1982 and 1983. In 1984 it was reduced to $460 million but increased once again to $575 million in 1985.(11) Davies believes that this growth in the deficit resulted from a falling off of exports and the corresponding unrestricted entry of imports. The net result was not only severe trade imbalances, but the increased competition of foreign goods for the Jamaican market drove many local manufacturers out of business. Figures from the Jamaica Manufacturers. Association, reported by Massing, show that 33 factories closed in the first two years of the Seaga administration, throwing thousands of people out of work.12 Shoes and garment industries were particularly hard hit. "Shoe Industry on Verge of Collapse,' the Daily News declared in a February 11, 1983, banner headline. The accompanying story reported that the industry was collapsing at a "rapid rate' owing to competition from 750,000 pairs of shoes that had been illegally brought into the country by smugglers. Six factories had gone under, and nine others had laid off employees. Eleven garment plants had also gone out of business.

http://findarticles.com/p/articles/m...g=artBody;col1

[Exile]

Education or lack of the root!!!

Jamaica Education
http://www.photius.com/countries/jamaica/society/jamaica_education.html
Sources: The Library of Congress Country Studies; CIA World Factbook

• • << Back to Jamaica Society
    The educational system was slow to reach most Jamaicans until the early 1970s. Even after the abolition of slavery, education remained uncommon; early efforts were conducted mostly by Christian churches. In the late 1800s, some secondary schools created in Kingston served primarily the light-skinned elite. The limited availability of schools, especially beyond the primary level, and the elitist curriculum intensified class divisions in colonial society. A dual system of education, characterized by governmentrun primary schools and private secondary schools, effectively barred a large part of the population from attaining more than functional literacy. In addition, much of the content of formal education in Jamaica was largely irrelevant for students unable to attend universities in Britain. In 1943, fewer than 1 percent of blacks and only 9 percent of the mixed races attended secondary school.
    The start of early self-government in 1944 finally cleared the way for increased funding for education. From the establishment of the Ministry of Education in 1953 to independence in 1962, a national education policy was developed that expanded the scope of education and redefined educational priorities. During the 1960s, the major goal of the government in the field of education was the construction of an adequate number of primary schools and fifty junior secondary schools (grades seven, eight, and nine). Until the 1970s, however, the educational system continued to provide insufficient opportunities at the postprimary levels because many of the features inherited from the British educational system remained.
    The PNP government elected in 1972 initiated major changes in the educational system. Qualitative and quantitative improvements in education were identified as the key elements of the new government's program during its first term in office (1972-76). The two most important aspects of the program were universally free secondary and college education and a campaign to eliminate illiteracy. Educational reforms were intended to redress the social inequalities that the system of secondary education had formerly promoted and to create greater access for all Jamaicans to the preferred government and private-sector jobs that typically required a secondary school diploma.
    The reforms of secondary education had positive but limited effects. Greater access to educational was the main accomplishment of the reform process, but limited funding may also have lowered the quality of education for the increased numbers of students attending secondary schools. Nevertheless, the introduction of universally free secondary education was a major step in removing the institutional barriers confronting poor Jamaicans who were otherwise unable to afford tuition.
    After changes in its literacy policies in the early 1970s, the PNP government in 1974 formed the Jamaica Movement for the Advancement of Literacy (JAMAL), which administered adult education programs with the goal of involving 100,000 adults a year. Although in 1987 specific data were lacking, increases in the national literacy rates suggested the program was successful. Literacy rates increased from 16.3 percent in 1871 to 47.2 percent in 1911, 67.9 percent in 1943, and more than 85 percent by the late 1970s.
    The educational system in Jamaica was quite complex in the 1980s. The public school system was administered principally by the Ministry of Education and regional school boards. Four major levels (preprimary, primary, secondary, and higher education) were divided into a number of different types of schools. The preprimary level was made up of infant and basic schools (ages four to six); primary education was provided at primary and "all-age" schools (grades one through six). Secondary schools included "new" secondary schools, comprehensive schools, and technical high schools (grades seven through eleven) as well as trade and vocational institutes and high schools (grades seven through thirteen). The twelfth and thirteenth years of high school were preparatory for university matriculation. The government also administered a school for the handicapped in Kingston.
    Although education was free in the public schools and school attendance was compulsory to the age of sixteen, costs for books, uniforms, lunch, and transport deterred some families from sending their children to school. Public school enrollment ranged from 98 percent at the primary level to 58 percent at the secondary level in the early 1980s. Schools were generally crowded, averaging forty students per class.
    There were also some 232 privately run schools in Jamaica, ranging from primary to college. The total enrollment in private schools was 41,000, or less than 7 percent of total public school enrollment. Most private-school students were enrolled in university preparatory programs. Both public and private schools were characterized by numerous examinations that determined placement and advancement. This testing material was originally British, but by the 1980s the Caribbean Examinations Council was increasingly the author of such tests.
    Several colleges and universities served a limited number of Jamaican students. These included the largest campus of the University of the West Indies (UWI), the College of Arts, Science, and Technology (CAST), the College of Agriculture, various teachers colleges and community colleges, and a cultural training center made up of separate schools of dance, drama, art, and music. Located at Mona in the Kingston metropolitan area, the UWI was the most prominent institution of higher learning on the island, offering degree programs in most major fields of study. As a regional university serving the needs of all the Commonwealth Caribbean islands, the UWI also maintained campuses in Trinidad and Tobago and Barbados. Approximately 5 percent of the Jamaican population participated in university studies, although some students pursued their academic training outside the Caribbean. In 1985 the government announced plans to begin reorganizing higher education, including the eventual merger of CAST and the College of Agriculture into a polytechnical institute or a university.
    In the early 1980s, the government reoriented its development strategies for education, emphasizing basic education in grades one to nine and human resources training. The government's plan stressed rehabilitating and upgrading primary and basic education facilities, improving the quality and efficiency of basic education, implementing a full curriculum for grades seven to nine in all-age schools, and establishing an effective inservice training program for teachers. Problems in secondary education were also identified, such as the existence of a complicated, secondary school system that produced graduates of varying quality and wasted scarce financial resources.
    The goals of developing the human resource potential of the population intended to provide educational opportunities for students to prepare them for the types of jobs available in Jamaica. According to Prime Minister Edward Seaga, elected in 1980, a major policy in the area of primary education was to ensure that primary school graduates achieved functional literacy. Secondary education was restructured to provide students with an education sufficient to meet the requirements of upper secondary school. The government reported in June 1986 that only 9,000 of 82,000 students in lower secondary schools were receiving an acceptable level of education.
    At the postsecondary level, the most important initiative of the government was the Human Employment and Resource Training Program (HEART). Announced in 1982, HEART aimed at providing training and employment for unemployed youths finished with school. In 1983, roughly 4,160 persons began job training or entered continuing business education classes. In 1985 six specialized HEART academies provided training in agriculture; hotel, secretarial, and commercial services; postal and telegraph operations; industrial production; and cosmetology. Nearly 1,400 persons completed agricultural or construction trades programs administered by the Ministry of Agriculture and the Ministry of Youth and Community Development. The HEART program called for the eventual construction of 12 academies capable of training 500 youths at a time in various skills. The program's critics charged, however, that funds could be better spent on community colleges. Education became increasingly politicized in the late 1980s, mostly as a result of the scarcity of resources. Spending on education declined to about 11 percent of government expenditures in the early 1980s, after peaking at nearly 20 percent of the 1973 budget. Issues of increased pay for teachers and renewed tuition expenses at the UWI threatened to make education a national political issue.
    

[Gamma]

i saw it, felt it and heard it.

i heard someone who did not even know my old man say ...say "gweh capitalist bwoy" along south camp road.

manley's intentions FOR THE MOST PART were honourable. but he too played politics, sometimes fast and loose for expedience' sake. he introduced complex concepts to people who were not ready for it and it took root perhaps not in the way in which it was inended...after that, he eiher couldn't or wouldn't reign it in.

[Historian]

Excellent Points

i saw it, felt it and heard it.

i heard someone who did not even know my old man say ...say "gweh capitalist bwoy" along south camp road.

manley's intentions FOR THE MOST PART were honourable. but he too played politics, sometimes fast and loose for expedience' sake. he introduced complex concepts to people who were not ready for it and it took root perhaps not in the way in which it was inended...after that, he eiher couldn't or wouldn't reign it in.

Excellent post, Gamma, and well stated! I'm in full agreement with every sentence you typed here as your post sums up, in a nutshell, the problems that arose from the noble experiment of the period 1972-1980.

[Mosiah]

All I know, if y'all care for my 2 cents, I heard some interviews with Michael Manley having to do with Cuba and Castro and I could not help thinking - what an intellect! And to display such intelligence, passion, conviction and strength in a way that rewrites the books on oratory and delivery - WOW!

Sorry, I don't share the "common" view that Manley is to be blamed for our current predicament.

[Mosiah]

Thank you, Exile! Talk about revisionist history!

[Assasin]

yes I did. My mom had to deal with it and worst my Chinese neigbour.

I saw people walk into people's farm and took anything that they could because the man was a "capitalist".

[Assasin]

He is not totally to be blamed but he has to share some reponsiblity.

At no time under manley rule did productivity increase,
Our economy expanded
His rule has been marred by sudden devaluation of the Jamaican dollar.

The political climate between the then PNP and JLP has lead to our current situation and we can' deny it. Eveny Beverly Manley had to agree that it was not just one side.

Yes Manley was an interlect but his economic accountablity left a lot to be desired.

Yes he has done a lot for many Jamaicans but we need to be fair in judging our leaders.

[Me]

Manley's policies or implementation is the major reason why we are in our current situation. Even the party fanatics will admit it if you catch them away from the media spotlight.

[Gamma]

you are 100% correct about manley's intellect...no argumant there. he was instrumental in getting south africa banned at the un and in the nonaligned movement in general.

he however did not either think through or concern himself the details of many of the "hows".....he is not fully to blame BUT he shoulders responsibility for not following through and for politcal expedience.

[Gamma]

funny thing is that i believe that he is a graduate of LSE.....