Jerome Teelucksingh

Status: lecturer

Affiliation: History Dept, UWI, St. Augustine.

Telephone: x 2021.
e-mail:  j_teelucksingh@yahoo.com

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                    PROPOSAL

Fete Societies and Rumshop Politicians: The Dangers of Ignoring Arthur Lewis and Globalization.


My proposed paper will examine the grave dangers faced by Caribbean countries which have ignored the writings of Arthur Lewis and the impact of globalization. I will argue that the low level of unity, relatively high level of poverty and poor health conditions in the Caribbean and was a result of politicians and technocrat who ignored or misunderstood the advice of Lewis. For instance, Lewis was a strong advocate for Caribbean unity. In 1960, he strongly recommended the federation of the “Little Eight” which was the basis for a federated West Indies. He focused on those features of society which militated against the freedom and democracy in the Anglophone Caribbean. 
This included a heritage of authoritarianism, the primacy of politics and a predilection of centralized government. He also served as President of the Caribbean Development Bank.

Certain countries benefited from his expertise and were influenced by the “Lewis Model.” For instance the Guyana Development Plan which was implemented during
1966-1972 was devised by Lewis. The Plan sought to reduce unemployment and raise the standards of living.
Furthermore, his “industrialization by invitation”
approach was successfully used in Puerto Rico and its “Operation Bootstrap” for economic expansion.




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