Dear Editor,
I am one of those who subscribe to the laws of dialectical and historical materialism. According to this theory, nothing is immutable. This is as true of living and non-living objects as it is to society. As one ancient Greek philosopher succinctly put it, one cannot bathe in the same river twice.
It is as a result of the above theoretical construct that I remain convinced that there has to be a better and more enlightened society than the one in which we currently live, that is characterized by high levels of poverty for the many and an opulent life for the few.
Something must be fundamentally wrong with a society in which there is widespread poverty in the midst of plenty. Just as slavery gave way to feudalism which in turn gave way to capitalism, a time will come in the distant future when a more humane and just society will evolve where the fruits of human labour will serve to provide for the good of humanity as a whole rather than a privileged few.
Call me utopian if you like, but I do believe that a more equitable and socially just society is a historical imperative whose time will come. Indeed, it is this vision of a better society in which there is no exploitation of man by man and where every individual contributes to the overall good of all that has been the driving force behind a countless number of liberation struggles worldwide, including that of Guyana which was led by the PPP during the colonial and pre-independence period.
The PPP under the then leadership of Dr Cheddi Jagan led the struggle for a free, democratic and independent Guyana. It has, when in government, sought to create a socially just society based on a policy of ‘development with a human face’ in which ordinary people were able to access social goods and services in a way not hitherto possible. Few can deny that under the PPP government more Guyanese were able to own their own homes and other consumer durables. The per capita vehicle ownership has increased by geometric proportions so that the city council has now put in place parking meters in the city which sadly is badly misconceived and will only serve to diminish the level of prosperity which the Guyanese people now enjoy.
That, however, is another matter. What Guyana needs at this conjuncture in time is a government that is lean and clean and where there is room for each and every Guyanese to benefit from the good life within the limits of our resource capability. The performance of the current APNU+AFC administration has been disappointing so far, and all the indications point in the direction of a gradual erosion of the economic and social gains made by the previous PPP/C administration.
Yours faithfully,
Hydar Ally
