Tweet
<span style="font-style: italic">.....this kinda thinking by J'cans in Ja. might be 50 yrs. too late but.......</span>
<span style="font-weight: bold">
To reinvigorate the culture of enterprise</span>
If a country loses too many of its most enterprising people it cannot achieve its full potential for economic development.
Jamaica has not attained and sustained real economic growth since the boom of the 1960s. While many factors undoubtedly contributed to this sad and discouraging state of affairs, the loss of a significant share of our most enterprising people is definitely an important cause of our prolonged economic malaise.
Well-known Guyanese historian, the late Mr Walter Rodney argued persuasively that Europe underdeveloped Africa by removing such a large part of its labour force into slavery in the New World that the continent's economies and societies collapsed. Hundreds of years later, Africa has still not recovered.
Jamaica has been haemorrhaging human capital on a massive scale since the late 19th century. The upshot is a profound and deleterious impact on our economy and society. Neither the platitude of brain drain nor the palliative of remittances are conceptually capable of grasping the unquantifiable aspect of losing a substantial number of the most enterprising people.
To be clear, enterprising is not to be confused with skills or brains or qualification or entrepreneurship.
It is an attitude which encompasses hard work, creative survival, ambition and ingenuity. The proof is the outstanding record of achievements of Jamaicans in foreign countries.
West Indians, along with Asians and Jews, have repeatedly been documented as the highest achievers among all migrant groups in the US and have out-performed US-born groups, especially African-Americans and Hispanic-Americans. This is good news of which we can all be proud.
Jamaicans succeed abroad because of their attitude of enterprise. The demonstration of this enterprise is to organise the resources and visas to migrate from the familiar and the family to the different and difficult. They survive and thrive in different climates and cultures working two, sometimes three jobs. They accomplish despite prejudice, racism and xenophobia.
But there is a down side, as the loss to Jamaica is that these are the types of people who would be the driving force of economic development.
In many instances it is the most enterprising people who have the courage and competence to migrate and hence Jamaica is left to rely on a mixture of depleted ranks of the enterprising and the less enterprising.
The former stay by choice, but have to pull along a disproportionate weight of the latter.
As it now stands, we are losing too large a share of the most enterprising Jamaicans to be able to meet the human capital requirements for economic development.
What we need therefore are the spirit and culture of enterprise to succeed in the 21st century. If those enterprising Jamaicans abroad could be induced to return in large numbers they would reinvigorate the culture of enterprise which is so lacking in our economy and society.
The appeal to patriotism will not be enough, nor will remittances substitute for their presence. Jamaica needs their social energy, economic enterprise, work ethic and constructive example
http://www.jamaicaobserver.com/editorial..._ENTERPRISE.asp
<span style="font-weight: bold">
To reinvigorate the culture of enterprise</span>
If a country loses too many of its most enterprising people it cannot achieve its full potential for economic development.
Jamaica has not attained and sustained real economic growth since the boom of the 1960s. While many factors undoubtedly contributed to this sad and discouraging state of affairs, the loss of a significant share of our most enterprising people is definitely an important cause of our prolonged economic malaise.
Well-known Guyanese historian, the late Mr Walter Rodney argued persuasively that Europe underdeveloped Africa by removing such a large part of its labour force into slavery in the New World that the continent's economies and societies collapsed. Hundreds of years later, Africa has still not recovered.
Jamaica has been haemorrhaging human capital on a massive scale since the late 19th century. The upshot is a profound and deleterious impact on our economy and society. Neither the platitude of brain drain nor the palliative of remittances are conceptually capable of grasping the unquantifiable aspect of losing a substantial number of the most enterprising people.
To be clear, enterprising is not to be confused with skills or brains or qualification or entrepreneurship.
It is an attitude which encompasses hard work, creative survival, ambition and ingenuity. The proof is the outstanding record of achievements of Jamaicans in foreign countries.
West Indians, along with Asians and Jews, have repeatedly been documented as the highest achievers among all migrant groups in the US and have out-performed US-born groups, especially African-Americans and Hispanic-Americans. This is good news of which we can all be proud.
Jamaicans succeed abroad because of their attitude of enterprise. The demonstration of this enterprise is to organise the resources and visas to migrate from the familiar and the family to the different and difficult. They survive and thrive in different climates and cultures working two, sometimes three jobs. They accomplish despite prejudice, racism and xenophobia.
But there is a down side, as the loss to Jamaica is that these are the types of people who would be the driving force of economic development.
In many instances it is the most enterprising people who have the courage and competence to migrate and hence Jamaica is left to rely on a mixture of depleted ranks of the enterprising and the less enterprising.
The former stay by choice, but have to pull along a disproportionate weight of the latter.
As it now stands, we are losing too large a share of the most enterprising Jamaicans to be able to meet the human capital requirements for economic development.
What we need therefore are the spirit and culture of enterprise to succeed in the 21st century. If those enterprising Jamaicans abroad could be induced to return in large numbers they would reinvigorate the culture of enterprise which is so lacking in our economy and society.
The appeal to patriotism will not be enough, nor will remittances substitute for their presence. Jamaica needs their social energy, economic enterprise, work ethic and constructive example
http://www.jamaicaobserver.com/editorial..._ENTERPRISE.asp
</span>
Comment