Global unrest test of morality, governance

Most Jamaicans would have been watching in shock the riots that swept English cities from London in the southeast through Birmingham in the Midlands and up to Manchester and Leeds in the north. Since there is hardly a Jamaican who does not have family connections in the UK, personal accounts would have come from relatives about the undercurrents surrounding these events. It is because of these connections that we know that contrary to some accounts, the blame cannot be put on Afro-Caribbean communities alone.

It has been obvious for some time that social tensions have been rising in Britain as, like American society, it is witnessing a bifurcation into the haves and the have-nots to an extent not seen in decades. So the police shooting incident that set off the first riot may well turn out to be the spark that ignited the bubbling cauldron.

Indeed, what I have heard from usually objective sources indicates that young people of all ethnic backgrounds were involved in the rioting, including white Britons and new Eastern European migrants.

Everyone to whom I have spoken, and especially the older Jamaican migrants, has been outraged by the looting and random acts of criminality, and feels ashamed of the youngsters from their communities who were involved. But, equally, they insist that the harsh turn in the economy has exacerbated social tensions and is fuelling anarchic behaviour. While they were surprised by the ferocity of the riots, many had felt that the economic austerity measures instituted by the new Conservative government last year would have damaging social consequences. Many had lived through the early '80s when severe budget cuts that hit the poor were imposed by the Thatcher government, triggering violent protests.

dire circumstances

It is not only in Britain that austerity is provoking social unrest. At the root of the political and social upheaval in Tunisia and Egypt, the so-called Arab Spring, is the rising unemployment, particularly among the young, sharp increases in food prices, and the lack of opportunities. Combined with political repression of corrupt regimes, the economic pressures swept away leaders who had ruled for decades. Even in Israel, steep rises in the cost of living have brought massive demonstrations to major cities in recent weeks.

In America, the dangerously high level of joblessness, and the fact that so many people have been unemployed for such an extended period, are charging political tension. It is somewhat surprising that this has not spilled over into social unrest as yet, although there is the Tea Party and an upsurge in right-wing fanaticism. Jamaicans, too, have been restrained in their reaction to the economic woes of unemployment, spiralling gas and electricity bills, and growing poverty.

Indications are, however, that in the US, the groups suffering the highest rate of unemployment, especially African-Americans, are becoming restless.

Obviously, they have been patient, having voted almost unanimously for Barack Obama, inspired by his message of hope.

social backlash

With the economy stalling, no sign of relief from high unemployment, and Republicans unlikely to support an extension of unemployment benefits, discontent will grow, and hence the warning coming from members of the Congressional Black Caucus to the Obama administration. A black president may have bought some social peace, but this cannot withstand unrelenting economic pressures. Though they were driven by issues of race, civil rights and anti-Vietnam War agitation, we well remember the riots in cities across America in the late 1960s and the social backlash.

Some social commentators in Britain see in the recent riots the distortions in economic and social life flowing from the free-market ideology and the culture of indivi-dualism that has sprung up in the last quarter-century. In his own observations, the Bishop of Manchester, the Rt Rev Nigel McCulloch, referred to the riots as the result of an erosion of public morals and what he called the "me-first" culture. He warned of a moral vacuum in private and public life where people have become confused about the difference between right and wrong, and this has spawned acquisitiveness and dishonesty in people of all ages and backgrounds that has reached all levels of British society. He called for a return to moral values where respect for others is placed above possessions.

McCullough's verdict must be seen in light of the recent corruption of symbols of authority - whether the bankers who caused the Great Recession, the parliamentarians in the expenses scandal, and the police collusion in phone-hacking - many of whom have not been punished.

The bishop's comments can be equally applied to Jamaica, where we are suffering a growing moral deficit, evidenced by the heavy church involvement in get-rich-quick Ponzi schemes, lack of respect for human life, 'relentless erosion of public values' and failures in governance. How else could it be that this society could countenance the jeopardising of support for hundreds of pregnant adolescents and teenage mothers?

Dennis Morrison is an economist. Email feedback to columns@gleanerjm.com.