In recent times, there have been many discussions in the public sphere as it relates to renewal and the People’s National Party (PNP). But this discussion, for me, lacks some specifics because there are individuals who are behaving as if the movement has not been renewing itself over the years.

The history of the PNP is there as a living testament to show that, like a butterfly, it has metamorphosed and remained relevant. This is why the movement has been dominant in the political process over the last 40 or so years; winning seven of the 11 general elections in the country since 1972.

I am a firm believer in renewal. Indeed, no political organisation can afford not to renew itself or it runs the risk of becoming moribund — and no one can say this of the PNP. We have been the political organisation of the most progressive change in this country since our formation in 1938. Whether it be the establishment of Common Entrance Examination by the Norman Manley regime of the 1950s, or the granting of full free education by the Manley regime in the 1970s, or the creation of the Child Care and Protection Act of the Patterson Administration of the 1990s, or amendment of the Dangerous Drugs Act 2015 for the decriminalisation of marijuana and the establishment of the Disabilities Act 2014 by the Portia Simpson Miller Administration: the PNP has been at the forefront of progressive change. So the organization has tremendous value to the Jamaican people and society.

What therefore are the issues confronting the movement at this time? Coming out of the last election, citizens have expressed the view that, among other things, we have deviated from our core principles and philosophy. They believe that we have not stuck to the principles of democratic socialism as stipulated in the constitution of the movement.

In 1940, the PNP declared democratic socialism as the ideology that grounds the movement. In 1974, Michael Manley reaffirmed the PNP’s commitment to this ideology. But it was not until 1978 that a lucid definition of this ideology was proffered to the members and supporters of the organisation.

The principles and objectives of the PNP define democratic socialism as: “A political and economic theory under which the means of production, distribution and exchange are owned or controlled by the people; and where the opportunities of society are equally available to all.” From my research and study of the PNP, neither Norman Manley nor Michael Manley had any intentions of establishing scientific socialism/communism. And, as postulated in the definition of democratic socialism, there is nothing about State ownership/control. Norman and Michael wanted to create a society that is just and where there are equal opportunities for all. In this society, there was room at the table for the farmer, the household helper, teacher, lawyer, worker, owners of capital, et al. This is why, in its embryonic stage, the PNP was created as a multi-class alliance.

I was therefore repulsed when I heard Prime Minister Andrew Holness in his Budget presentation making reference to the PNP as having lost its way and departing from the principles of Michael Manley. His utterances were riddled with hypocrisy and contempt because his political organisation, the Jamaica Labour Party (JLP), and one of his political mentors, Edward Seaga, went on a crusade against Michael Manley in the 1970s when Manley reaffirmed democratic socialism as the ideology of the PNP. Such crusade polarised the Jamaican society and contributed to the deaths of over 800 Jamaicans in 1980. And, in 2016, the JLP, through its current leader, Holness, in an explicit move at political opportunism, is showering praises on the programmes and policies of Michael Manley and saying that the PNP has departed from his principles. What blatant hypocrisy! And, since we are in the season of apology, is he now prepared to apologise to Michael Manley and the country for what was done in the 1970s?

For me, therefore, the current dialectics in the PNP about renewal cannot confine itself to the mere changes of personnel. Prior to February 25, 2016, this was never an issue in the movement, neither was term limits. The current proponents of renewal have to go much deeper than the surface in articulating transformation. And so, for me, I strongly support those who say that we must reaffirm our democratic socialist ideals. Democratic socialism is not a curse word and neither is it communism. It is a political ideology that is designed to ground the PNP and to have us focus on social justice and equality of opportunities for all. It is an ideology that says that the man in Mocho must have the same opportunity to get an education as the man in Cherry Garden. It is an ideology that says a cancer patient from Tivoli must have the same opportunity to quality health care as the cancer patient in Jack’s Hill. Nothing is wrong with those ideals, and they are worthy of working towards as a society. It is these ideals that I am personally committed to and want my movement to reaffirm publicly and the current discourse must speak to these issues.

Now, one major concern that is going to emanate from this discussion is, can the market function in a democratic socialist society? I say, unhesitatingly, yes. As adumbrated earlier, the PNP was established as a multi-class alliance and there is room at the table for different individuals from different strata of society. Furthermore, there has been a global transformation, and the market is being used by most countries to deal with what is produced, how much, and when it is produced. Therefore, I have no problem with the market being used as the major vehicle for driving economic activities in the society. However, provisions must be put in place to ensure that the workers within the enterprises get a piece of the pie from the entities that they are working for. Special mechanisms must therefore be put in place to ensure that, as workers work, they are able to purchase shares in the companies in which they are employed. Simultaneously, as companies make profits, they must make provisions for the workers that have contributed to the income that they are earning, benefit from their wealth. Members of Parliament who are elected by the people must also assist in driving production in their constituencies and, in so doing, must create cooperatives, where shares are sold to citizens who are interested in becoming a part of such entities. These cooperatives must be managed by trained professionals and should engage in agro-processing and small manufacturing across the country. This will aid in significantly reducing the unemployment rate whilst building wealth for citizens.

All trees have a rooting system. The root is designed to anchor the tree and to make sure that it produces efficaciously and can withstand the vagaries of the weather. When the tree grows, it will produce fruit, and with modern research trees are able to produce multiple fruits through the process of engrafting. My point is that the market can operate within the rubric of a democratic socialist society. China, Russia, and now Cuba are doing that.

This is where the creative energies of the members of the PNP need to be channelled. It constitutes the fulcrum of renewal in our movement. We have the skill sets and competencies of multiple individuals who are tenfold brighter than those within the JLP. So, can you imagine when the minds of Portia Simpson Miller, Peter Phillips, Lisa Hanna, Angela Brown Burke, Peter Bunting, Julian Robinson, Wykeham McNeill, Noel “Butch” Arscott, Mark Golding, Phillip Paulwell, Fitz Jackson, Dayton Campbell, Fenton Ferguson, et al, are conflated to formulate the new path for the PNP with democratic socialism as its foundational philosophy, what that will mean for Jamaica? Awesome!

Floyd Morris is former president of the Senate.