Go Lean Commentary
Who knew?
- … the Caribbean has an Intelligentsia?
Well blow me away with a whisper! This fact is surprising new information for this movement behind the book Go Lean … Caribbean …
- … and we should know as we “wrote the book” on the Caribbean.
So there are college degree programs at universities in North America that cover the subject matter of “Caribbean Studies”. This would normally include the sociology, anthropology and historicity of the region; its people, traditions, culture, institutions and industries.
- Big question mark on that last one!
It’s hard to think that there may be intelligent people studying the Caribbean industrial and economic eco-system and their credentials are not scorned in academic circles.
The truth is, the Caribbean is devoid of so much smart out-workings – there are many societal defects – that it’s hard to think there is an intelligentsia for this region:
in·tel·li·gent·si·a
noun
- Google: intellectuals or highly educated people as a group, especially when regarded as possessing culture and political influence.
- Merriam-Webster: intellectuals who form an artistic, social, or political vanguard or elite.
The opening assessment in the Go Lean book explained that there is undoubtedly a Caribbean geographical region; but there is no unified Caribbean society or culture. Rather there is crisis; there are 30 disjointed, unorganized member-states rimming the Caribbean Sea that has no universal leverage, comradery nor brotherhood. Even the Bible says:
9 Two are better than one because they have a good return for their labor. 10 For if either of them falls, the one will lift up his companion. But woe to the one who falls when there is not another to lift him up. 11 Furthermore, if two lie down together they keep warm, but how can one be warm alone? 12 And if one can overpower him who is alone, two can resist him. A cord of three strands is not quickly torn apart. – Ecclesiastes 4: 9-12
So for any existing Caribbean intelligentsia in the status quo, it must be for English-speaking territories alone, or Dutch-speaking alone (minus Suriname), or French-speaking alone (minus Haiti), or Spanish-speaking (though there is no unity even among those 3 countries: Cuba, Dominican Republic and Puerto Rico).
It is time now for a change; for the emergence of a Caribbean intelligentsia for all of the Caribbean, for all 30 member-states.
The book Go Lean…Caribbean – available to download for free – serves as a roadmap for the introduction and implementation of the technocratic Caribbean Union Trade Federation (CU), for the elevation of all Caribbean society – for all 30 member-states in all 4 language groups. This CU/Go Lean roadmap has these 3 prime directives:
- Optimization of the economic engines in order to grow the regional economy to $800 Billion and create 2.2 million jobs.
- Establishment of a security apparatus to ensure public safety and protect the resultant economic engines.
- Improve Caribbean governance to support these engines, including a separation-of-powers between the member-states and CU federal agencies.
The book stresses that Caribbean societal engines must be reformed and transformed at a regional level. This shows the need for an intelligentsia influence on Caribbean society. This was an early motivation for the roadmap, as pronounced in the opening Declaration of Interdependence (Pages 12 – 13):
xi. Whereas all men are entitled to the benefits of good governance in a free society, “new guards” must be enacted to dissuade the emergence of incompetence, corruption, nepotism and cronyism at the peril of the people’s best interest. The Federation must guarantee the executions of a social contract between government and the governed.
xii. Whereas the legacy in recent times in individual states may be that of ineffectual governance with no redress to higher authority, the accedence of this Federation will ensure accountability and escalation of the human and civil rights of the people for good governance, justice assurances, due process and the rule of law. As such, any threats of a “failed state” status for any member state must enact emergency measures on behalf of the Federation to protect the human, civil and property rights of the citizens, residents, allies, trading partners, and visitors of the affected member state and the Federation as a whole.
xvi. Whereas security of our homeland is inextricably linked to prosperity of the homeland, the economic and security interest of the region needs to be aligned under the same governance. Since economic crimes … can imperil the functioning of the wheels of commerce for all the citizenry, the accedence of this Federation must equip the security apparatus with the tools and techniques for predictive and proactive interdictions.
xxiv. Whereas a free market economy can be induced and spurred for continuous progress, the Federation must install the controls to better manage aspects of the economy: jobs, inflation, savings rate, investments and other economic principles. Thereby attracting direct foreign investment because of the stability and vibrancy of our economy.
There is the need for a Caribbean Intelligentsia. This normally includes:
- Think Tanks
- Advisory Councils
- Standards Organizations
- Community Development Foundations
- Organized Philanthropists
- Non-Government social agencies
There have been so many expressions of intelligence-lacking practices (Stupidity, Orthodoxy and even Rent-Seeking) in Caribbean society that influence and guidance from well-educated, intelligent stakeholders need to be encouraged.
The Go Lean book provides 370-pages of turn-by-turn instructions on “how” to adopt new community ethos, plus the strategies, tactics, implementations and advocacies to execute so as to reboot, reform and transform the societal engines of Caribbean society: economics, security and governance. Intelligence-lacking practices can be found in all these three spheres of society.
So teach away, all you colleges and universities, identified here from the online resource website CollegeBoard.org; (and learn more about the College Board in the Appendix VIDEO below):
College Search: Caribbean Studies
11 results
City University of New York: Brooklyn College
Brooklyn, NY
City University of New York: City College
New York, NY
Columbia University: School of General Studies
New York, NY
Dartmouth College
Hanover, NH
College Application Fee Waiver Available
Hofstra University
Hempstead, NY
College Application Fee Waiver Available
McGill University
Montreal, CA
Pitzer College
Claremont, CA
College Application Fee Waiver Available
Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey: New Brunswick/Piscataway Campus
Piscataway, NJ
College Application Fee Waiver Available
SUNY University at Albany
Albany, NY
College Application Fee Waiver Available
University of Pittsburgh
Pittsburgh, PA
College Application Fee Waiver Available
University of Toronto
Toronto, CA
Source: Retrieved January 11, 2018 from: https://bigfuture.collegeboard.org/college-search?major=145_Caribbean%20Studies
So we entreat you universities … to teach your ‘Caribbean Studies’; and then lets apply the teachings – the arts and the sciences – the scientific methods and technocratic best practices.
See how the Go Lean book considers specific plans, excerpts and headlines for the objective of Fostering a Technocracy; this is found in the book on Page 64:
Fostering a Technocracy
1 | Lean-in for the Caribbean Single Market This CU treaty calls for a technocratic confederation of the Caribbean region into a Single Market of 30 member-states and 42 million people. The term technocracy was originally used to designate the application of the scientific method to solving social & economic problems, in counter distinction to the traditional political or philosophic approaches. The CU must start as a technocratic confederation – a Trade Federation – rather than evolving to this eventuality due to some Failed-State status or insolvency. |
2 | Economists & Engineers – not Lawyers nor Politicians
The concept of a technocracy remains mostly hypothetical, though some nations have been considered as such in the sense of being governed primarily by technical experts in various fields of governmental decision-making. A technocrat has come to mean either ‘a member of a powerful technical elite’, or ‘someone who advocates the supremacy of technical experts’. Scientists, engineers, economists, and technologists, who have knowledge, expertise, or skills, would compose the governing body, instead of politicians and businesspeople. In a technocracy, decision makers would be selected based upon how knowledgeable and skillful they are in their fields. Even the leaders of the Communist Party of China are mostly professional engineers. The Five-Year plans of the People’s Republic of China have enabled them to plan ahead in a technocratic fashion to build projects such as the National Trunk Highway System, the High-speed rail system, and the Three Gorges Dam. |
3 | Professional Emergency Managers
The CU treaty calls for a collective security agreement for the Caribbean member-states to prepare-respond to natural disasters, emergency incidents and assuage against systemic threats against the homeland. The CU employs the professional arts and sciences of Emergency Management to spread the costs and risks across the entire region. Outside of hurricanes or earthquakes, the emergency scope includes medical trauma, pandemic incidents and industrial accidents (i.e. oil or chemical spills) – any scenario that can impact the continuity of the economic engines and/or community. |
4 | Apolitical – Loved by All |
5 | Model of Constitutional Monarchy |
6 | Constitutional Mandates – Supporting Democracy
The Nobel Prize winning Public Choice Theory posits that public stakeholders (politicians & bureaucrats), tend to act in their own self-interest. The CU, in true technocratic fashion, will codify constitutional mandates (ie. lottery/school funding). |
7 | Balance Budget Constraints |
8 | Federal Civil Service – Guarantee Fair Treatment |
9 | Service Level Agreements
The CU is a proxy organization, chartered to execute deputized functions on behalf of member-states; this means a task-oriented philosophy with “Service Level Agreements” in place; i.e. 80% of all phone calls answered within 20 seconds. |
10 | ITIL – Systematic Assurances
The formal ITIL (Information Technology Infrastructure Library) discipline is the art/science that describes processes, procedures, tasks, and checklists for managing risks associated with information technology deployments, to ensure the optimal uptime. This includes the CU’s Continuity & Availability Management, Change Control & Release Management. |
The Go Lean roadmap seeks to assuage the societal defects in the Caribbean region. This means identifying, qualifying and engaging curative strategies and tactics. This is a familiar theme for this Go Lean movement; the charter of the organization is to function as an Intelligentsia Group unto itself. Consider here, some previous blog-commentaries that have highlighted organizations, best-practices and new community attitudes, all under a consistent theme of the “Role of the Intelligentsia“. See the sample of prior submissions here:
http://www.goleancaribbean.com/blog/?p=13890 | Role of Intelligentsia: We Need to Talk and Collaborate on Solutions |
http://www.goleancaribbean.com/blog/?p=13524 | Role of Intelligentsia: Future Focused – e-Government Portal 101 |
http://www.goleancaribbean.com/blog/?p=13321 | Role of Intelligentsia: Making a Pluralistic Multilingual Democracy |
http://www.goleancaribbean.com/blog/?p=12949 | Role of Intelligentsia: Grow Up Already for Charity Management: |
http://www.goleancaribbean.com/blog/?p=12621 | Role of Intelligentsia: ‘If it is going to be, it starts with me’ |
http://www.goleancaribbean.com/blog/?p=11812 | Role of Intelligentsia: Planning for Hope and Change |
http://www.goleancaribbean.com/blog/?p=11759 | Role of Intelligentsia: Understand the Market, Plan the … |
http://www.goleancaribbean.com/blog/?p=11598 | Role of Intelligentsia: Give us your Time, Talent and Treasuries |
http://www.goleancaribbean.com/blog/?p=11358 | Role of Intelligentsia: Preparing for the Inevitable Retail Apocalypse |
http://www.goleancaribbean.com/blog/?p=10351 | Role of Intelligentsia: ‘Culture Eats Strategy For Breakfast’ |
http://www.goleancaribbean.com/blog/?p=10166 | Role of Intelligentsia: Looking Back at the Obama Years |
http://www.goleancaribbean.com/blog/?p=9428 | Role of Intelligentsia: Forging Change with a Herd Mentality |
http://www.goleancaribbean.com/blog/?p=7769 | Role of Intelligentsia: Being Lean – Asking the Question ‘Why’ 5 Times |
http://www.goleancaribbean.com/blog/?p=7646 | Role of Intelligentsia: Going from ‘Good to Great’ |
http://www.goleancaribbean.com/blog/?p=6341 | Role of Intelligentsia: Tourism Stewardship |
http://www.goleancaribbean.com/blog/?p=2709 | Role of Intelligentsia: Caribbean Academic Study: Boy-Girl ‘Discipline’ |
Having educated individuals in society is good for society … and good for the individuals – see Appendix VIDEO below. These ones eventually make up the intelligentsia. If put to use this intelligentsia can be a source for good.
It was shocking and unbelievable that there is supposed to be a Caribbean Intelligentsia, individuals or groups studying the Caribbean’s past and planning the future. This can easily become the role-responsibilities of today’s students matriculating in the field of ‘Caribbean Studies’. They are out there! So let’s be shocked no more. The message to the people of the Caribbean region henceforth is that the Caribbean’s past is not necessarily condemned to be the Caribbean’s future.
Change has come! The CU will do the “heavy-lifting” to effect change, to implement agile/lean methodologies in the region, in the member-states and in the new federal agencies. Welcome to a technocracy!
Now is the time for all Caribbean stakeholders – residents, Diaspora, businesses and institutions – to lean-in for the optimizations and empowerments described in the book Go Lean … Caribbean. Yes, we can make the region a better homeland to live, work and play. 🙂
Download the free e-Book of Go Lean … Caribbean – now!
Sign the petition to lean-in for this roadmap for the Caribbean Union Trade Federation.
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Appendix VIDEO – Five Ways Education Pays: Having a college degree means a richer life in every way! – https://youtu.be/spNDLD2KRuA
The College Board
Published on Nov 28, 2011 – For most students who go to college, the increase in their lifetime earnings far outweighs the costs of their education. That’s a powerful argument for college. But more income is by no means the only positive outcome students can expect. Learn about all the ways that a college degree can transform your life and lifestyle for the better!
- Category: Education
- License: Standard YouTube License