Education must not be seen as a privilege but as a human right

Sep 03, 2017 Letters

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Dear Editor,
Let me take this opportunity to put to rest a point that is deliberately misconstrued in an attempt to discredit socialism. When we speak about people being equal we do not mean that all people are the same, and are endowed with the same abilities. Our socialism is not about regimentation and sameness. What we mean, is that, influenced not by European thought, but rather by our own ancient traditions and faiths, we believe that regardless of a person’s level of ability, education, wealth etc., they and their offspring are entitled to an equal opportunity to reach their full potential,and to have their basic needs met. These needs include adequate nutrition, housing, healthcare and education. For my party, Organization for the Victory of the People (OVP) education is not a privilege or a commodity to be determined by market forces, but rather a human right.
Regurgitating one myth after another, the Peeper claims that “Socialism has also poisoned economic thinking, by encouraging greater pressures on the propertied class. Yet, it is this very class which is expected to create wealth. How can the private sector create wealth when there is this bias against them, both in the minds of the under-performers in society and within official policy?”
This is one of the biggest lies perpetuated by the defenders and apologists of the neo-liberal capitalist model. They claim that the private sector is the engine of growth and if allowed to freely grow and grow, then the wealth will”trickle-down” to all the people. Decades have passed and still we cannot see the wealth and prosperity we were promised. When bourgeois economists speak about “trickle down”, they surely meant a trickle! Joseph Goebbels, Hitler’s Propaganda Minister, taught the capitalists a valuable lesson: “If you repeat a lie often enough, people will believe it, and you will even come to believe it yourself.”
The capitalists keep repeating their mantra: that the private sector is the engine of growth. My question is, engine of growth for whom? My answer is, for themselves. I have on many occasions challenged any politician or economist in Guyana to name me one country in the world which has been developed primarily by the private sector. The private sector is not in the business of nation building, and certainly in a country like Guyana, nation building must be undertaken by the State, led by a government that works in the interests of all the people.
That government must reject the neo-liberal capitalist project and meaningfully engage in the national economy. An OVP government would first of all pursue a path of democratization of the economy. We will create new structures and institutions that would put wealth and land in the hands of the people. True socialism necessitates the development of a system and structures that allow for the masses of people to participate in the decisions that affect their lives.
Another myth perpetuated by the Peeper is that all of those (the 99%) that are not included in the so-called “propertied class” (the 1%) are “under-performers”. This is another of capitalism’s big lies, a lie that they keep repeating. We are told that we live in a “meritocracy”; a society where those who work hard will automatically get ahead and prosper. If hard work was the sole ingredient in producing wealth, then Africans in Guyana would be among the wealthiest Guyanese. And please tell the child who is studying for CXC and lives in a squatting area with no electricity, poor nutrition, insufficient money to attend school regularly, no access to textbooks, the internet, a computer to type their SBAs and a printer to print them, that hard work alone will guarantee success.
Let the Peeper, and those who hold similar views, stop talking about socialism’s failure and tell us where is capitalism working? The truth is the capitalism that was built on genocide, African enslavement and Indian indentureshiphas failed us not only in Guyana, but across the globe, plunging the world into crisis, war and environmental destruction. It is an irrational, illogical system, exalting profit and capital accumulation over human life.
Finally, the Peeper threatens us, stating that if the “propertied class” are not given the tax rebates he/she thinks they are entitled to then the they “will continue to ship their money out of the country”.
My final comment to the Peeper is to do what you will. What I can tell you is that your clear lack of patriotism, coupled with your vulgar elitism and contempt for those you callously term “under-performers”,(a euphemism for the poor who make up the majority of the Guyanese population)has no place in the new Guyana that will inevitably come into being. A Guyana without economic exploitation, political domination and racial hegemony.
As Guyanese, it is time that we emerge from the garrison politics that have entrapped us as a people. Trapped us to the extent that we would see our country in total crisis and remain indifferent and foolhardy. It is time to engage in a serious debate about these crucial issues before it is too late. I am prepared, as leader of Organization for the Victory of the People (OVP), to debate anyone, anywhere, anytime, including the President and Prime Minister of Guyana and Leader of the Opposition, about the way forward.
Gerald A Perreira
Leader
Organization for the Victory of the People (OVP)

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