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An excellent article by Don Robotham who is no JLP partisan. See the article here
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Re: Time to defeat the lumpen
<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: Dyoll_73</div><div class="ubbcode-body">An excellent article by Don Robotham who is no JLP partisan. See the article here </div></div>
It is a primituive view.of the siyuation just like th eold plantation overseers had. ther is no recognition that th e'majority have been berift of a means of livuing. and avery form of life does whatever it takes to poot food on th etable anf find somewhere to lay their head.
It is not the common man's fault. -
Re: Time to defeat the lumpen
<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Quote:</div><div class="ubbcode-body">It is a primituive view.of the siyuation just like th eold plantation overseers had. ther is no recognition that th e'majority have been berift of a means of livuing. and avery form of life does whatever it takes to poot food on th etable anf find somewhere to lay their head.
It is not the common man's fault. </div></div>
So a left-leaning academic like Robotham is a part of the plantocracy? Your comments would be laughable is they weren't so intellectually dishonest. In your rush to dismiss the rather salient points raised by the writer, and rationalize the base actions of a group of Jamaicans (who are not the majority as you wrongly claim; an attempt by you to give legitimacy to such actions) no doubt, on some psychological theory (you are, afterall, the resident expert on behavior here), you miss the real substance of the article.
It is this: there is a group of sore loosers in the PNP camp. They are in the middle class, not at the bottom of the 'needs heirarchy ladder' as you claim. They have been the beneficiaries of PNP patronage over the years, and will see those 'benefits' disappear now that their party is out of office. They fail to accept the JLP victory, as slim as it may be. The writer rightly suggests that this is the real reason for the challenges over dual citizenship. They are trying to do in the courts what they failed to do at the polls. They are attempting to find legal solutions to their political problems.
Did you really read the article? Is it that everyone who disagrees with you is either ignorant, uninformed, and now, have primitive views? Such arrogance!Comment
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Re: Time to defeat the lumpen
Read it early this morning and felt the same way too. Excellent and surprising article coming from Mr Robotham whose views tend to tilt towards the PNP.
I scratch my head though when I read Dawn Ritchs rantings. I cannot believe that she actually gets paid to write the drivel she writes. I am also mystified as to her complete change of course from a few years ago where she has gone from vocal PNP critic to loyal PNP lap dog. Is it the Portia factor or to borrow an idea from the Don Robotham article, did Dawn think that a PNP win would secure for her certain scare benefits and spoils? Its all very strange.Comment
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Re: Time to defeat the lumpen
Remember this when you read Dawn Rich piece always, she is not anti JLP, she is pro Seaga therefore anti Bruce and there is whole lot of things that goes with that. So don’t be surprise about anything she write about this JLP as long as it been lead by Bruce Golding, as the article said the Bruce Golding lead JLP is not without its lumpen. Don’t forget that over the years leading up to the elections there was L.A.B. meaning Laborites Against Bruce the thing is they could not and cannot control Bruce Golding. He is in no mans pocket and will do what he believe is right for the Country, he will make mistakes he will stumble, but you know what he will rise.
Just watch and read how others are taking credit for him keeping his campaign promises, while in the same breath and words craving for his failure. But how silly they are if he fail he is human and subject to such, but just think where the Country will be should he fail.
Tuffy………. Time come, to come backComment
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Re: Time to defeat the lumpen
<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: Wardob</div><div class="ubbcode-body">
Tuffy………. Time come, to come back
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AgreedComment
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Re: Time to defeat the lumpen
<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: remo</div><div class="ubbcode-body"><div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: Wardob</div><div class="ubbcode-body">
Tuffy………. Time come, to come back
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Agreed </div></div>
REMO! that's not nice or right of a moderator! Deleting people's post even if as a pnp yuh noh like di article! [img]/forums/images/%%GRAEMLIN_URL%%/70388-shameonyou.gif[/img]Comment
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Re: Time to defeat the lumpen
delete it again ol bias remo! [img]/forums/images/%%GRAEMLIN_URL%%/rolleyes.gif[/img]
<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Quote:</div><div class="ubbcode-body"> <span style="color: #000099">Time to defeat the lumpen - Why were they left out of Senate appointments?
published: Sunday | September 30, 2007
Don Robotham, Contributor
Morris, Mottley and Munroe
The back and forth around the two seats in Hanover and St. Mary and the court cases brought around dual citizenship have stimulated public concern. The fact that only 59 MPs were available to be sworn in for the opening of Parliament speaks volumes.
At its core this is a political not a constitutional problem. The political problem is this: PNP zealots refuse to accept that the JLP has won the elections. The problem is the influence of the lumpen over the political leadership of the PNP. The problem also is this - some well-known PNP personalities from the middle class are encouraging this destructiveness.
Over a period of 18 years, a lumpen army, large and small, has come to be dependent on the state for contracts, board appointments, jobs, security protection, insider information, contacts and privileges. Retaining control over the state is a matter of life and death for them. They cannot give it up just because of a vote. They must fight to the finish with whatever means necessary.
This is the real reason for the court cases on dual citizenship. They are one tactic in a secret war that this lumpen army is waging. The absurd PNP appointments to the Senate are a second tactic: they are a further reflection of the persistence of this destructive mentality. The appointment of K.D. Knight, Basil Waite and Mark Golding is a transparent attempt to obscure reality. When persons such as Floyd Morris, Donna Scott-Mottley and Trevor Munroe are summarily discarded and replaced by bridesmaids, the message is loud and clear. The lumpen are in command.
JUDICIAL STRATAGEMS
Further, an intention has been declared not to bother to appoint a Shadow Cabinet. This will be the third tactic of the lumpen. The point of this one is to weaken that part of the PNP which supports Peter Phillips and Maxine Henry-Wilson.
For the moment, the PNP is cooing that if they win in the courts, they will be magnanimous. Out of the goodness of their hearts, they say, they will not push to recover power for themselves. Instead they would go for fresh elections. A promise is a comfort to a fool. That is the song being sung now by naive PNP legal luminaries who have to justify their pusillanimity to themselves. But what is the song which will be sung later, if the PNP actually wins in the courts? We must understand the games which the lumpen are playing and deal with them pre-emptively.
We must make it clear to the lumpen hard core and their opportunistic supporters in the middle class, that no matter what the outcome in the courts, they will not be allowed to re-take power by backdoor judicial means. This is the fundamental point to maintain at all times.
For consider the political consequences of pursuing the judicial challenges. If, for example the PNP were to succeed in unseating Shahine Robinson, Daryl Vaz or Gregory Mair then the people of St. Ann north-eastern, Portland western and St. Catherine north-eastern would have been disenfranchised by a legalistic manoeuvre. How would these 23,533 persons who voted JLP and the entire JLP mass base react? They must take to the streets and vigorously too. There will be counter-mobilisations on the PNP side. Very severe social and political instability could ensue.
LEGAL CHALLENGES
What happens if the legal challenges result in a 30-30 draw? What legal rights does the Governor General possess to intervene? Will the old government simply continue, even though, with the Speaker excluded, they would in fact be in the minority? How will it be determined who has 'the confidence' of a majority of the House?
No one has been able to offer convincing answers to such questions. If, for example, the Governor General were to rely on the majority vote and on this basis confirm Mr. Golding as Prime Minister, enormous legal and political consequences could follow. It would drag the Governor General into the arena of partisan political contestation for the first time in our modern history. This has the potential to shake the legitimacy of our political system to its very foundations.
This is where lumpen intransigence mixed with legalistic hypocrisy and blind egoism threatens to drag us. They are bent on bringing down the whole house on our heads if necessary to keep power.
POLITICAL SOLUTION
The key to finding a solution is to approach the problem politically, not just judicially.
The first thing is for Mr. Golding to strengthen himself with the political centre. His Senate appointment of Mrs. Hyacinth Bennett is an excellent start but more is needed. He must intensify his efforts to retain highly respected PNP professionals who are willing to work with the Government. They must be made to understand that their services are valued and that the new government genuinely welcomes them on board.
The moves to eliminate transfer taxes and to resolve delays in the plan approval process are heading in the right direction. The effort to address police brutality - a very difficult matter - must be continued. Mr. Golding must persist with his moderate and statesmanlike tone. Above all, he must take up the youth question seriously, as I have been advocating repeatedly. This can be done initially without necessarily placing a huge additional charge on the budget.
The point of all of this is to strengthen the new government in the middle ground and to isolate the PNP lumpen and their middle class supporters in their small noisy corner. JLP supporters must show understanding of these realities and stop crowding Mr. Golding. He needs more room to manoeuvre.
The more the PNP lumpen are isolated, the less their judicial games matter. Fight them hard in the courts but defeat them politically. What will they be able to do with this so-called victory in a political climate which is overwhelmingly hostile to them? Not one thing!
Once Mr. Golding begins to accumulate political forces from the centre on his side, then the game is up for the PNP lumpen and those 'hardears' members of the PNP middle class who opportunistically support them. Mr. Golding can now return to the polls with confidence and beat the lumpen and their backers into submission twice!
This is not just a matter of local government elections. He has to think more broadly. He may have to either call fresh general elections or have a series of by-elections in the affected constituencies. The PNP is broke, disunited and cannot fight fresh elections of any kind. They will be wiped out. The fresh elections may have to be sooner than either Mr. Golding or the nation may wish. But the country should support him in this endeavour. It is a small price to pay to defeat the lumpen leadership of the PNP once and for all.
The road to social stability is a political road. The sensible elements in the PNP are unable or unwilling to subordinate the lumpen. So the country has to do it for them. It is not that there are no lumpen in the JLP because they are many. The crucial difference however is this: the lumpen do not control the JLP leadership.
One of the awful heritages of the Patterson years is the decay of the PNP. It is a shadow of its former self, scorning its tradition of positive social development and in the grip of the lumpen. As the PNP presidential elections proved, the lumpen cleverly exploit the ambitions of some members of the PNP middle class in order to divide and rule.
No country can progress under the leadership of the lumpen. Decades of economic stagnation has meant that these social strata have become a pervasive force in our political, economic and cultural life. Their nefarious influence is the crux of our values and attitudes problem. They are the reason why our corruption rating has fallen some 23 places in a single year which must be a world record! We have to defeat the lumpen politically, economically, socially and culturally, in whichever space they rear their heads. Some elements in the PNP middle class are playing footsie with them. Mr. Golding has to fix this, for the good of the PNP, and of Jamaica.
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Re: Time to defeat the lumpen
<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: Donnika</div><div class="ubbcode-body"><div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: remo</div><div class="ubbcode-body"><div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: Wardob</div><div class="ubbcode-body">
Tuffy………. Time come, to come back
</div></div>
Agreed </div></div>
REMO! that's not nice or right of a moderator! Deleting people's post even if as a pnp yuh noh like di article! [img]/forums/images/%%GRAEMLIN_URL%%/70388-shameonyou.gif[/img] </div></div>
mek u troublesome suh?..the link was already posted by the original thread starter.... [img]/forums/images/%%GRAEMLIN_URL%%/70400-talktohand.gif[/img]Comment
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Re: Time to defeat the lumpen
<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: remo</div><div class="ubbcode-body"><div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: Donnika</div><div class="ubbcode-body"><div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: remo</div><div class="ubbcode-body"><div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: Wardob</div><div class="ubbcode-body">
Tuffy………. Time come, to come back
</div></div>
Agreed </div></div>
REMO! that's not nice or right of a moderator! Deleting people's post even if as a pnp yuh noh like di article! [img]/forums/images/%%GRAEMLIN_URL%%/70388-shameonyou.gif[/img] </div></div>
mek u troublesome suh?..the link was already posted by the original thread starter.... [img]/forums/images/%%GRAEMLIN_URL%%/70400-talktohand.gif[/img]
</div></div> [img]/forums/images/%%GRAEMLIN_URL%%/70456-eyebrows.gif[/img]
noh worry bout dat. di link can always dissapear so posting the article is betterComment
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Re: Time to defeat the lumpen
<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: Donnika</div><div class="ubbcode-body"><div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: remo</div><div class="ubbcode-body"><div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: Donnika</div><div class="ubbcode-body"><div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: remo</div><div class="ubbcode-body"><div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: Wardob</div><div class="ubbcode-body">
Tuffy………. Time come, to come back
</div></div>
Agreed </div></div>
REMO! that's not nice or right of a moderator! Deleting people's post even if as a pnp yuh noh like di article! [img]/forums/images/%%GRAEMLIN_URL%%/70388-shameonyou.gif[/img] </div></div>
mek u troublesome suh?..the link was already posted by the original thread starter.... [img]/forums/images/%%GRAEMLIN_URL%%/70400-talktohand.gif[/img]
</div></div> [img]/forums/images/%%GRAEMLIN_URL%%/70456-eyebrows.gif[/img]
noh worry bout dat. di link can always dissapear so posting the article is better </div></div>
dats why mi nuh like Kingstonians eno ...dem give tuh much trouble [img]/forums/images/%%GRAEMLIN_URL%%/70409-waytogo.gif[/img]Comment
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The influence of the lumpen
The influence of the lumpen
published: Sunday | October 7, 2007
Don Robotham, Contributor
The episode at the Ministry of Labour at which thousands of uncertified workers turned up for recruitment to construction jobs in Canada was our first reality check. The foray of the new government unto the international capital markets to borrow US$150 million, Omar Davies-style, was another. Those who imagined that our economic problems were simply the product of Dr. Davies's ineptitude are getting a rude awakening.
The new government seems oblivious to a simple fact with which a former head of First Global Finance ought to be familiar: The so-called 'foreign' debt and 'international' capital markets are not foreign at all. At least 80 per cent of these 'foreign' bonds are held right here in Kingston! This sets up a special dynamic in our macroeconomic relationships, the understanding of which is critical to effective macromanagement.
The crisis of the construction workers also raises broader issues. It is intimately connected to the lumpen problem discussed in last week's In Focus article. Parts of the unskilled tier of the construction sector are penetrated by the lumpen, plagued by gangsterism of all kinds.
The term 'lumpen' refers to those strata of society crushed by the juggernaut of economic change. They have been ejected from the old (often rural) economy but have not found a stable place in new formal economic activities. They live by their wits, often resorting to crime.
The lumpen develop a culture adapted to their position in society. Violence and intimidation are their modus vivendi; braggadocio their favoured mode of expression; name-brand clothes, flashy cars and bikes, skin bleaching and bling, their forte. Forget delayed gratification, modesty and respect for punctuality. The old African, Protestant values framework within which most Jamaican are still raised is utterly alien to them.
Although all social classes shade into each other in Jamaica, the lumpen are to be distinguished from the working class, especially the organised working class. They are not to be confused with the hard-working small farmers. Don't mix them up with higglers who also work long hours. The lumpen are certainly not to be identified with members of the lower middle class who may fall just above the poverty line, but who also burn the midnight oil.
The lumpen are not identical with the unemployed they overlap. The lumpen are to be found in the informal sector and among the long-term unemployed, especially those who have never been employed. About 45 per cent of the unemployed in the 15-29 age group, or about 50,000 persons, are long-term unemployed. Of this number, about 63 per cent or 31,500 persons have never, ever worked in any sort of job, formal or informal. Adding on the lumpen part of the informal sector we can estimate that we have roughly 50,000 hard-core lumpen in Jamaica. A comparatively small number but, when in control of our political parties or the state, enough to hold us all to ransom.
jobbing gangs
During slavery, the lumpen were recruited from jobbing gangs and the poor part of the free-coloured population. A friend asked me recently if I had ever noticed a tendency for some of our inner-city 'Dons' to be 'red'? She has a point.
The first huge expansion in our lumpen population came at the end of the 19th century - our first structural adjustment to the global economy, resulting in the collapse of the Jamaican sugar industry. As a result of the free trade and land-monopoly policies of the British after the Sugar Duties Act of 1846, thousands were ejected from the small-farming sector, flooding into Kingston and migrating abroad. This is the origin of our inner-city ghettos in Western Kingston, which were formed at the end of the 19th century. Our inner cities are colonial ghettos - a gift from the British upon which we have improved.
global free trade
It was no accident that the second rapid expansion of our lumpen came with the reintroduction of global free trade in the 1990s. After 1989, when the Jamaican economy was compelled to structurally adjust to globalisation for a second time, there was a huge movement in and out of poverty. Between 1989 and 1991, the per cent below the poverty line increased from 30.5 per cent to the shocking figure of 44.6 per cent of all households - or about 1.2 million Jamaicans! It sub-sequently declined to about 16 per cent by 2006. The result was a deep process of social decay in which lumpen influence insinuated itself into every pore of Jamaican society.
Not all lumpen are recruited from the lower strata. There are also uptown lumpen. These are persons from the upper end of society who have acquired substantial wealth, but from what source?
Often, they attended traditional high schools like a johnny cake but exited as a dumpling - sans certification. Some were depending on skin colour, sports or contacts to get them through. When these proved insufficient, they too were unable to find a firm footing in any part of the formal economy. They became successful hustlers, importing and exporting all manner of contraband. This group is now rich enough to come out of the shadows and to make a brazen bid for political power.
The lumpen, downtown and uptown, are the root of our crime problem - both drugs and extortion. They are the force maintaining the garrisons. Ironically, they are also the root of our police brutality problem - quite a few with a lumpen mentality enter our police force.
The lumpen and their middle-class allies are at the heart of our corruption problems. They corrupt our culture, our economy, our values and attitudes, our social institutions, and our political life.
The influence of the lumpen is enhanced because some sections of uptown society, seeking wealth and power, use them as a political tool. This is true on both sides of the political divide. Without this alliance between sections of uptown society and the lumpen, we would have defeated them long ago.
Workers on a construction site in the Corporate Area. Expanding more low-paying jobs in the local construction sector aggravates and does not address the unemployment problem. Not all lumpen are recruited from the lower strata. There are also uptown lumpen. These are persons from the upper end of society who have acquired substantial wealth ...- FILE PHOTO
Lumpen dominance
The middle ground of Jamaican politics is sick and tired of this lumpen. This middle ground is by no means to be identified with the middle class. This moderate political centre is drawn from a broad cross section of Jamaican society - workers, small and medium farmers, traders, teachers, nurses, doctors, accountants, academics, civil servants, other professionals and business persons. The centre is both urban and rural. Lumpen dominance has left the PNP isolated from this centre. If it remains so isolated, it will wither on the vine.
This takes us back to the striking episode in the middle of last week at the Ministry of Labour. Of all the unemployed in the 15-29 age groups, 74 per cent have no educational certification of any kind 27 per cent have had four years or more of secondary education. This is why I have been harping on the importance of mastering English and skills certification for months now.
The JLP hopes to facilitate a rapid expansion of the construction sector to soak up the lumpen. But as the Ministry of Labour episode proved, this is a flawed strategy. It underestimates the depth of our educational deficits and betrays a lack of understanding of the requirements of a modern labour force, including in construction.
Moreover, Minister Charles' proposed "massive training programme" to be run by HEART/NTA - laudable as it is - faces serious obstacles. There is a severe shortage of qualified trainers. There is a huge English deficit. Most adults - especially males - actively resist education and training. Everyone wants training to take place on the time and at the expense of employers. How can this work for small and medium business - the bulk of our employers? This is not a problem amenable to 'crash' solutions.
The problem of the youth cannot be solved by expanding the number of unskilled construction jobs. Unskilled construction labour and lumpenism are already intimately interrelated. Moreover, with a national unemployment rate of 9.5 per cent, the issue is not mainly one of outright youth unemployment. It is primarily an issue of low-wage employment - the working poor.
Migratory jobs to Canada are great but obviously not a solution. Expanding more low-paying jobs in the local construction sector aggravates and does not address the problem either.Comment
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Re: The influence of the lumpen
A very good article by Dr Robotham and an excellent analysis of the 'lumpen' issue - except for the 'Omar Davis-style borrowing' part in the first paragraph which he mentioned, which I'm not entirely clear about and will have to check.Comment
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