The Queen of Jamaica

The Queen of Jamaica

INTRODUCTION
THE URGENCY OF THE HOUR
Jamaica’s Prime Minster has announced that Jamaica will leave the British monarchy and become a republic. Some Jamaicans have responded positively to this idea; others have responded negatively. But there is something far more urgent than whether we become a republic or a monarchy. What could be more urgent than the republic or the monarchy?
What is more urgent is the fact that Jamaica has entered a new age known as the G-Zero World – a world without leadership, a world where “Every Nation is For Itself,” Ian Bremmer – Every Nation For Itself Winners and Losers in a G-Zero World.1
Bremmer devotes a full chapter to explain what a G-Zero world is. He cited a meeting of world leaders in Copenhagen in December 2009. The leaders had gathered to discuss “greenhouse gas emissions.” China and India announced that they could not support a document that imposed specific numerical target. This “most important conference since the second World War” ended in acrimony and conflicting accounts of what happened, and with no progress toward any meaningful agreement.”2
Bremmer concluded that the summit failed for two reasons:
(a)    there was not nearly enough common ground among the leading established and emerging players to reach a deal that would have required sacrifice from all sides, and (b) no single country or bloc of countries had the clout to impose a solution. This argument perfectly illustrates the G-Zero and where it comes from.”3
What we have here is the wide perception that the old established powers of America and Europe are in decline. They are no longer leading the world. The emerging powers such as the BRIC: Brazil, Russia, India and China are growing, but they have not yet taken leadership of the world – so we are left with a leaderless world that presents dangers and opportunities. Jamaica can no longer look to Europe or the USA exclusively for leadership. So, the urgent question is: How do we avoid the dangers of the new leaderless world, and how do we make use of the opportunities.
The question before us has nothing to do with the form of government – it has to do with the quality of leadership. It has to do with whether the leader is informed, agile, strategic and innovative. Bremmer gives several examples of countries that he thinks will be successful in the new leaderless environment.
He cites Brazil, “now the world’s eighth largest economy and a state with many important advantages.”
Brazil “has built strong political ties and promising commercial relations with the United States, China, and a growing number of other emerging – market countries….Brazil has become a pivot state, a country able to build profitable relationships with multiple other countries without becoming overly reliant on any one of them. Over the past thirty years, international winners were those states that adapted to and profited from the processes of Western-led globalization. In a world with regional centers of gravity, one in which no country plays the global leader, governments must create more of their own opportunities. The ability to pivot is a critical advantage.4
So, this is the challenge for Jamaica – the challenge of becoming a pivot state – establishing political and economic relations with a variety of successful countries and companies. Bremmer asserts that the old order is dead: The IMF, The World Bank, The G7, The G20 are all ineffective, dead, or dying. China Development Bank is now lending more money than the World Bank.5 So, Jamaica must be alert, nimble and flexible if it is to succeed in the new world order.
Can a tiny country like Jamaica find success in a leaderless world? Bremmer cites Singapore as an example of a successful small country that understands the need to pivot.
Singapore has a population of five million people… [Its] per capita GDP is among the highest in the world, while unemployment hovers at about 2 percent… Since independence in 1965, Singapore has… an elite that governs largely by consensus…Singapore’s government has worked to marry Eastern culture and Western Business practices, and the country is now the world’s fourth leading financial center, behind London, New York, and Hong Kong.
This is really amazing because Jamaica became independent a few years before Singapore and look at the difference. These two small countries are miles apart. Jamaica has much to learn from Singapore, a pivot country.
In the pages that follow, I try to show the path that Jamaica should take to secure a future of peace, productivity and prosperity. Chapter 1 explains the concept of a republic. Chapter 2 gives reasons why Jamaica should elect its own “working queen”. Chapter 3 gives an example of how Jamaica’s queen would function. Chapter 4 presents the six factors that will enable Jamaica to achieve 3000 years of peace, productivity and prosperity. Chapter 5 discusses the way forward – where do we go from here. The sixth and final Chapter presents new faces of change and hope.