Towards a Great Caribbean Century: A Reflection on Michael Manley’s Vision

Editor’s note: This article is an edited version of a speech which was given by Professor Canute Thompson to mark the 99th anniversary of the birth of Michael Manley in 2023 and is being presented here to mark the centenary of his birth.

 

I am dreaming of a great Caribbean century. A century marked by amazing accomplishments which reflect the greatness for which the people of the Caribbean are known.

This year, 2024, marks the centenary of Michael Manley’s birth. The Caribbean has had, and has some outstanding leaders in academia, the arts, sports, culture, and politics. In the political arena, Michael Manley, despite the political and economic challenges which dogged him as Prime Minister, has made a phenomenal contribution to the Caribbean’s development. Manley was an outstanding intellectual and defender of the rights of the vulnerable, and most importantly a visionary whose political ideology, which was rooted in the empowerment of the masses, remains relevant fifty years after it was first articulated and a century after his birth.

Manley was an outstanding intellectual and defender of the rights of the vulnerable, and most importantly a visionary whose political ideology, which was rooted in the empowerment of the masses, remains relevant fifty years after it was first articulated and a century after his birth.

Whatever our respective political ideologies and persuasions, I am confident that everyone will agree that his vision of universal access to quality secondary and tertiary education is something we hold in common. We may disagree on the pathways and the policy mixes, but no one would argue that social or economic barriers should be erected to prevent any who so desires an opportunity to access secondary and tertiary education.
                So, my dream of that great Caribbean century is one that would see nations of the Caribbean retaking the position that access to quality education is a right and access to higher education a foundational strategy of sustainable development.  So, I am dreaming of a century of Caribbean greatness, rooted in Manley’s vision, a vision which was influenced by Marcus Garvey. In this century of greatness, starting this year 2024, it is my dream that leaders in all sectors of Caribbean society (academia, politics, culture, the arts, and commerce) will dream big and conceive of a century (2024 – 2124) with bold actions taken over the next decade to realize the dreams of that century.  Such bold actions will require:

• Transformation and revolutionization of our education systems to deliver quality and enable access
• Rebalancing our economic systems to incentivize talent, so as to increase exports of manufactured and knowledge products
• Drastic reductions in crime and disorder as we resocialize our children and create opportunities for meaningful participation in educational and economic activities
• Bold steps to protect the environment
• A deeper appreciation of the importance of happiness, yes, happiness – created, lived and shared.

Marcus Mosiah Garvey Jr. (17 August 1887 – 10 June 1940) was a Jamaican political activist and National Hero

The key elements of this great Caribbean century of which I am dreaming, are not only captured in Manley’s visions but also in the Nordic Model of socio-economic development which is practised in most Scandinavian countries. 

Manley’s overarching vision

To appreciate the determination of Manley and his government to stay the course in providing free education, we must look at his broader socio-economic development agenda.  Free secondary and tertiary education was a part of a broader socio-economic transformation strategy that was anchored in expansive legislative reforms. The reforms included the Holiday Act (1973), the Employment Termination and Redundancy Payment Act (1974) and the Bauxite Levy Product Act (1974). In the mid to late 1970s, came the Labour Relations and Industrial Disputes Act (1975), the Equal Pay for Men and Women Act (1975), the Status of Children Act (1976), the Maternity Leave Act (1979) and the National Housing Trust Act (1979).

Free secondary and tertiary education was a part of a broader socio-economic transformation strategy that was anchored in expansive legislative reforms. The reforms included the Holiday Act (1973), the Employment Termination and Redundancy Payment Act (1974) and the Bauxite Levy Product Act (1974). In the mid to late 1970s, came the Labour Relations and Industrial Disputes Act (1975), the Equal Pay for Men and Women Act (1975), the Status of Children Act (1976), the Maternity Leave Act (1979) and the National Housing Trust Act (1979).

This list of legislative strategies depicts a social and economic re-engineering that was well overdue yet ahead of its time. Free education up to the secondary and tertiary level, along with other pieces of socio-economic legislation, reflected the socio-economic model which some of the most successful countries have pursued and which create some of the happiest places on earth.

The Nordic Model of socio-economic development: Identifying elements of Manley’s vision

The Nordic Model is an economic model which has been in use in places such as Austria, Denmark, Finland, Germany, Iceland, Norway, and Sweden for decades. It includes a comprehensive welfare state with a collective bargaining system which places a premium on workers’ rights based on the foundations of social corporatism, also called social democratic corporatism. Social democratic corporatism is a tripartite economic system in which government, as one partner, plays a facilitative and supportive role to advance and balance the collective interests of society and the relationship between capital and labour. This facilitative role of government carries a commitment to promoting and protecting private interests in the context of a mixed economy.

            It is this kind of socio-economic arrangement which is responsible for countries such as Denmark, Finland, Norway, and Sweden being the happiest places on earth. Jamaica can become like them. We too can pursue a socio-economic model which balances the interests of capital and labour. It can be achieved through a balanced collective bargaining process which valorizes equity and social harmony as national objectives; government plays a leading role, but it is facilitative rather than prescriptive.

            The 2023 World Happiness Report (WHR) has been published and Finland has again topped the list, for the sixth year in a row. The WHR is published by the United Nations Sustainable Development Solutions Network and uses six key factors to rank more than 150 countries. The factors used to determine the rankings are social support, income, health, freedom, generosity and the absence of corruption.

The WHR is published by the United Nations Sustainable Development Solutions Network and uses six key factors to rank more than 150 countries. The factors used to determine the rankings are social support, income, health, freedom, generosity and the absence of corruption.

• In addition to the amazing feat of Finland’s sixth year dominance are the names of the countries in the top ten. The top ten countries are Finland, Denmark, Norway, Sweden, Netherlands, Switzerland, New Zealand, Iceland, Luxembourg, and Israel. All ten countries use the Nordic Model. Recall that the key elements of the Nordic Model are high public spending on social services, a state-steered market economy which balances the interests of capital and labour, with the government playing an active role in the collective bargaining process.

Finland’s first place position in the Happiness index was built around a high level of GDP per capita (though lowest among the five Nordic countries), strong social support, a healthy life expectancy, freedom, generosity and low corruption.

• A key element of social support is free and publicly funded education. There is no tuition fee in higher education in most countries which use the Nordic Model. This is certainly the case in all five countries in the Nordic region – Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway, and Sweden. However, while higher education is not free in the other five of the top ten happiest countries, there are three things to note about what at least nine of the ten have in common. They all have high levels of tertiary participation, high levels of GDP and per capita income, and low levels of crime. Across the Nordic countries, tertiary participation averages 50 per cent, meaning that 1 in 2 citizens have a college or university degree. This is higher than the average of 41.6 per cent for the European Union.

They all have high levels of tertiary participation, high levels of GDP and per capita income, and low levels of crime. Across the Nordic countries, tertiary participation averages 50 per cent, meaning that 1 in 2 citizens have a college or university degree. This is higher than the average of 41.6 per cent for the European Union.

In terms of GDP per capita, Iceland is $80,000, Norway $78,000, Denmark $68,000, Sweden $54,000, and Finland $53,000. Among other countries in the top ten happiest places, Luxembourg is $133,500, Switzerland $92,000, Netherlands $57,700, Israel $52,000, and New Zealand $48,700.

With respect to crime, Iceland has the lowest crime rate, for thirteen consecutive years, followed by New Zealand, Ireland, Austria, and Denmark.

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Canute Thompson is Professor of Educational Policy, Planning and Leadership, Pro Vice-Chancellor – Undergraduate Studies and Director of the Caribbean Centre for Educational Planning at The University of the West Indies, Mona Campus, a social activist, and author of eight books and twenty journal articles.

Professor Thompson has earned several awards. Among them, are eight UWI Mona Campus Principal’s Award – two for Best Publication (Article Category) in 2019 and in 2020 for his book, ‘Reimagining Educational Leadership in the Caribbean’; three for Most Outstanding Researcher (2020, 2021, and 2024); two in 2023 on behalf of the CCEP –  for Research Activity generating the most funds and Research with the most Development Impact, and one in 2024 for Research Activity generating the most funds.  In 2022 he was awarded a bronze medal in the Independent Publishers’ Book Awards, for his 2020 book, Education and Development: Policy Imperatives for Jamaica and the Caribbean.