How old are you? Guyana needs massive cultural adjustments in order to move forward

Dec 24, 2022 Letters

Dear Editor,

Guyana is no doubt going through massive economic transformation. Transformation is different from change in the same way that a change in demand is different from a change in the quantity demanded. Cereal instead of roti.

We are in the midst of a paradigmatic revolution in terms of the economic structure and attendant effects such as the composition of the gross domestic product, national income, job opportunities, the structure and distribution of incomes, consumption patterns, the gender configuration of the labour force, and inter alia, the dynamics of the labour market with increasing emphasis on migrant or re-migrant labour.

Practically all of the developments above are progressive or, at a minimum, heading in the right direction. There is, however, one seriously lagging component, namely, our culture.

Allow me to get to the basics by listing some areas of national and institutional culture that must go through if Guyana is to get to the bare minimum for success in a highly globalized world economy.

First and foremost, as it stands, breaking rules is so widespread, that it is the norm. Where rule-breaking is concerned, there seems to be perfect equality across the spectrum of ethnicity, geography, politics, and religious persuasion.

While there are regular expressions of outrage against rule-breaking, all too often the prescribed solution is enforcement. But rule enforcement by state authorities should not be the principal method of eliciting proper conduct and compliance.

What is needed is systematic and systemic resocialization of individuals into functioning citizenship, beginning with the family. Religious practices perhaps need to become a bit more secular and address problems of everyday life rather than focus on the principles of abstract salvation and deliverance. Educational institutions need to go beyond exam preparation and inculcate a culture of reciprocal obligations in a new regime of norms. No disrespect intended.

Leaders in civil society have a special responsibility in providing guidance, and through their own conduct, set new standards of good citizenship. When civil society groups become too attached to political parties, or themselves act like political parties, they abandon a ‘sacred space’ which they are entitled to through what might be called constructive abstinence.

I do not mean the type of abstinence that the American US President, George W. Bush, meant it. Rather, I refer here to one of Guyana’s foremost political minds, Mr. Ralph Ramkarran, who thoughtfully labelled as “sex appeal”, the excessive dipping of civil society groups into politics and even unnecessary politicization of functional problems. As Freddie Kissoon has also noted, the politics of “sex appeal” drains away the most potent instrument of civic action, which is, constructive neutrality.

In the last quarter of the nineteenth century, the German sociologist Ferdinand Tönnies wrote about the cultural convulsions that were taking place in his country due to rapid industrialization and modernization. The book called Gemeinschaft und Gesellschaft (Community & Society) analyzed the ways in which the emerging practices of modernity (Gesellschaft) were rubbing up against an apparent static German folk culture (Gemeinschaft). There are important lessons to be learnt from Tönnies’ work.

Gemeinschaft refer to those cultural traits that are characterized by resistance to change, suspicion of outside world, privileging faith over reason, risk avoidance, widespread acceptance of rumor, tight kinship relations, fluid spatial boundaries within a group, and inter alia, maintenance of inherited leadership. Gemeinschaft economies are agriculture based and rural life is generalized.

In Guyana, we see expressions of the Gemeinschaft in the resistance to foreign capital, the cultural hegemony of rumor where everyone is an expert on everything, the attempt to tribalize politics and culture (e.g., do not buy black pudding in Mon Repos), and loud, hammering noise otherwise known as music into the wee hours of the morning because of elastic boundaries. On the last point, a police officer once told me that I must understand “people does have wedding” so I have to understand the music playing. I was told this at 3:00 A.M. with music from BV lashing Triumph and LBI.

Gesellschaft culture calls for the development and generalization of Standard Operating Procedures in all facets of public service. Let me relate. I went to GRA for routine business but was not sure which line to join. I asked a uniformed police officer for assistance. Her answer was – “How old are you?” The cultural idiot that I am, I told her, believing that perhaps there is a quick line if you pass a certain age. But alas, “how old are you” was her final guidance. The same thing happened two days ago when a traffic cop stopped me at Mahaica! This time, however, I told him I am not feeling well! SOPs would have prevented the asinine responses that appear to be routine. Other examples abound in numerous agencies.

Culture has a material basis, meaning it is not simply in your head. In this case, government really matters. I have come to the conviction that infrastructure impacts public behavior on our roads. Driving behavior on the East Bank (from Georgetown to Grove) and West Bank (from the Bridge to Vreed-en-Hoop) is notoriously lawless and dangerous. I think this is partly due to the inadequate infrastructure and to wit, people make up their own rules. On the East Coast – from Kitty to Annandale, driving behaviour is more compliant, and this notwithstanding numerous fatal accidents. The point is there is more order, compared to EBD and WBD, where the ‘culture of the jungle’ has taken over. This last point is more speculative and made here to foster discussion.

Culture matters. I do not mean it in the way rightwing neoliberals meant it, namely, that culture is all that matters. History also matters, as does the quality of governance both emanating from state authorities and civil society groups.

Sincerely,

Dr. Randolph Persaud