“..send not to know for whom the bell tolls..it tolls for thee..”— John Donne,1624

As the early morning bells rang across the UK, heralding Britain’s exit from the European Union, the sleek marionettes of the EU directorate watched with growing dismay, and then in shocked disbelief, as the first giant fissure appeared in their vast political patchwork.

Removed from national realities, shrouded in the tattered legacy of greater men, these shadowy bureaucrats must now face the harsh light of a bitter political truth: within a generation, the European integrationist experiment has become a fractured debacle.

The UK was always going to break first, since it had its own currency, language, culture, and only one foot inside the door. France is falling fast under Marine LePen’s nationalist spell, Austria appears to be packing its bags, Greece remains a basket case, the refugee tsunami has spawned a border backlash, economic growth remains elusive, markets are skittish, and terrorists run rampant in major European cities.

It’s a sad state of affairs, but largely inevitable. We live in a world where power is no longer concentrated in leaders, institutions, or even armies. Rather, we live in an age of deconstructed power, born of a distrustful generation, energised by the Internet, propelled by populism, fed by factionalism,and devastating in its intensity.

Just look around: Donald Trump for U. S. President? That’s a clear sign of a deep, raging American discontent, just as the Brexit vote was for the UK. Leaders and ideas that once mattered are now mistrusted or discarded,to be replaced by movements and messages. In this far from brave new world, it is amorphous cells that go viral, like ISIS, UKIP, Uber, and WhatsApp; ‘change or be crushed’ is the new mantra, for institutions and governments alike.

BIG CHILL

Even distant Caribbean leaders felt some cold North Atlantic chills run down their well-fed frames when they awoke to the Brexit vote.

Chill #1: OMG, what’s going to happen to all that easy aid money from their fellow fat cats in Brussels and London?

Chill #2:WTF just happened to my secret sterling nest egg ?

Chill #3:BBC!: Jamaica just done free up ganja..suppose dem free up a Caricom referendum too?

It’s about time that Jamaicans stood up and took control of a runaway debacle designed a generation ago by regional politicians who culturally had much more in common than the disparate territories they lorded over.

In the post-colonial glow of independence, Caribbean unity seemed like an excellent idea, born of big thinkers like Jamaica’s Norman Manley and Trinidad’s Eric Williams. But in retrospect, an early abortion would have been an even better idea — no way could that political pig ever really fly.

Great ideas need solid principles, which act as the foundation for sustainability. The EU was structured with a common currency, open regional borders,a strong central bank, and a democratic framework. Its fatal flaw remains fiscal non -integration.

Caricom, on the other hand, has no core foundations, is governed by and for a privileged few, is anti-immigration, and provides no meaningful benefits to most member nation… no wonder its big fish are nervous.

NO LOVE

Ever tried to make a trip to friendly Trinidad, or to one of the smaller Eastern Caribbean islands, with your Jamaican passport? Don’t expect to find ‘One Love’ over there… just ask the many hundreds, if not thousands of Jamaicans who have been harassed,disrespected and even violated, by state agents of our Caricom brethren.

Don’t get me wrong, Trinis and small islanders are decent people (with terrible governments). But Caricom is a broken toy from an age long past, an idealistic relic of zero utility in a new age of deconstruction.

Why would a tiny set of unimportant countries present external trade barriers to 99.9 per cent of the rest of the world… not too bright,right?

But gosh, it sure feels good, meeting in ritzy resorts, destroying West Indian cricket, doling out plum posts to cronies, traveling to international conferences for useless chat with no accountability, and all taxpayer funded…nice work if you know how to get it.

It’s time to take this burden off the backs of Jamaicans, and its time Jamaica’s leaders stood up in defense of its citizens and its producers in the struggle for personal respect and equitable commerce with our regional partners.

As Bruce Golding meets with his council of 18 (!?!) to discuss Jamaica’s future, he had best remember that it was the JLP’s Bustamante who first took the ax to the nascent West Indian Federation — and he would be well advised to swing that same ax at Caricom.

When the befuddled Caricomrades next meet in Guyana to bemoan Brexit and the imminent decline of EU/UK patronage, he of all people should best remember that what goes around,comes around. Perhaps this will finally be his shining hour, the moment when he feels the ghost of Bustamante at his side, and dares to speak the cold truth to his regional peers.

TIME TO JEXIT

Without a timely Jexit, the spectre of the Caribbean Court of Justice looms large in the lurk, another bureacratic wet dream sure to cost Jamaicans dearly, both in their pockets and in their rights.

This dangerous spawn, fostered by an elite cabal with scant regard for national sentiment on the matter, must be crushed in the cradle before it becomes another regional monster.

The fundamental lesson of Brexit was the deep disconnect between government and the governed. In choosing sovereignty — illusory though it may be — the UK electorate turned its back on a flawed European system and chose to muddle on without the bureaucrats from Brussels on its back.

It is a lesson in civil deconstruction, and in the atomisation of power. Jamaica could well learn from this epic event, and begin to choose an independent path, free of Caricom and the platitudes of ‘regional integration’.

There are far more pressing concerns here at home: energy security, water security, food security, national security, and debt management must be national priorities. There is surely no further logic in pursuing a regional PNP pipedream.

Jamaica’s future lies not to the East with soca, but to the South with salsa.

Roger Brown is founder and managing director of Panama-based Risk Control SA, which provides investment advisory, asset protection, and offshore financial services to international clients. Through Professionally Panama, its business concierge platform, Risk Control also provides custom corporate, health, and hospitality services.