GIVEN contemporary political realities in Jamaica and future possibilities, I am grateful to Jerry Small, talk show host of the morning programme, Straight Up, on NewsTalk 93 FM, for his first-rate contribution, almost daily, to the silent discourse on the renewed relevance and purpose of community action as a co-operative endeavour for social change among the mass of the Jamaican population.

Twenty-first century realities in Jamaica, he contends, demand that as a post-colonial society we rediscover that sense of constructive cooperative action in all spheres of human development, if we are to achieve genuine development, equality and social justice.

Mr Small has sought to apply thought in demonstrating that organised community action, around issues as diverse as security, road rehabilitation, proper health care and the cost of energy, holds out the greatest promise of achieving deserving good governance in the body politic beyond the “limited” contribution towards improvement in these areas, when either the JLP or the PNP forms the government.

In this regard, the recent initiatives of civil society that influenced the staging of “Black Friday”, the Finsac and Manatt enquiries, the JPS-focused pressure group CURE, and Bruce Golding’s apologies following the Dudus extradition debacle, are just a few examples of a society with the hope of rediscovering its sense of community, without which a civilised society of orderly, stable and coordinated social action cannot be fully realised.

So far so good. But still, far too many of us are ignorant of the fact that the institutions which played critical roles in balancing the society in the struggle for freedom from slavery to self-government, rest to a great degree on this sense of community. Organised politics, as we know it, in the form of political parties, is predicated on the notion that there are ideals worth sharing by different groups of citizens and serving as a basis for programmes of action for the material betterment and social development of an entire people.

Our problem, regrettably, has been the excesses of individualist greed, vanity and selfishness which have all but taken over our society in the past 40 years that have come close to destroying our sense of community activism. The last 10 years, in particular, have harboured the natural selfish proclivities of our people way beyond and above the traditionally entrenched habits of cooperation, social caring and community spirit, which earlier sustained our largely rural folks.

Can we overcome this problem? Yes, we can. This will require that the habit of experiencing that sense of community and community action in our everyday lives, cultural expressions, pursuit of political goals and development of national identities, become the task, not simply of “the government” but an entire society determined to claim its own destiny.

Fulfilment will not materialise, however, where the citizens have become caught up in the entertainment provided by the spectator sport that two-party politics in Jamaica has become; and where the characteristic Westminster spirit of compromise and balance is now straining under the weight of our propensity for impassioned polarisation, which limits the capacity of ordinary Jamaicans to find appropriate models of development.

Falling back on the sense of community action which Marcus Garvey saw expressed in self-reliance and the PNP – before digital social networking – in the conscious mobilisation of creative collective energies in the past, must once again become part of government’s efforts to meet its popular mandate. All modalities of collective action will be needed to grapple with our myriad development problems. But for these to work, it will mean a compassionate, sensitive engagement by our politicians with the innovative traditions of the Jamaican community experience.

History reminds us that the PNP started out as a movement of disparate labour leaders, political activists, unskilled workers, farmers and creative artists, as all part of the community which perceived itself as being engaged in a concerted push against social injustice and powerlessness consequent on the twin afflictions of slavery and colonialism. And Norman Manley, before he engaged representational politics, institutionalised the Jamaica Welfare Limited, which reflected the natural strength inherent in our people to live together as opposed to living side by side, throughout the period of self-government advocacy.

To my way of thinking, such an agreeable proposition must now have high priority on any national agenda of stable and co-ordinated social action by those hankering to lead us, and need not engender fear or the customary cynical response.

epryce9@gmail.com