Change in mindset
Last week’s article began a discussion on the economics of unity. The article set out what was at stake in the upcoming elections for the Guyana economy. As the Abilene Paradox reminds us, no one person or no one party could guarantee success without dissent and healthy debate. An effort would be made this week to define the economics of unity as it applies to Guyana and extend its application to the future prospects of the country. This effort is being made in the context of the goals that government is expected to achieve within the economy. As a reminder, the goals that government must achieve are security, liberty, equity and efficiency. For this writer and many others, the economics of unity is about minimizing tensions in the society, maximizing the value of the diversity of Guyana and providing equal opportunity to all Guyanese who are capable and willing to participate in the society. In other words, it is about tackling the factors that have kept this nation divided and that prevented it from moving forward. The effort, in parts, draws on post-emancipation history and sees the need for a change in the mindset that has plagued this country for a long time.
Minimizing tensions
Guyana is a multiracial society which was gripped by racial troubles before, particularly in the 1960s when there were open clashes between the two major races, Guyanese of African and Indian descent. Those unhappy events have led to lingering suspicions and phobia of each other. Some of these fears are being deliberately stoked by leaders of the incumbent party in an effort to bring suspicion and uncertainty to the fore in the upcoming elections in what appears to be an effort to turn the choice for