Proponents of a “third force” political entity are of the view that a “third force” is necessary to hold the “balance of power” in the National Assembly. Proponents of the “third force” politics are also of the view that the PPP/C does not want to have an educated population because an educated population would be a threat to the party based on its politics, implying that an educated population will be critical thinkers and that critical thinkers will vote on the basis of issues and policies. Further, the “third force politics” proponents alleged that the PPP/C is a racial party, the party intentionally oppresses others, etc.
Contrary to the foregoing allegations by the proponents of third force politics, this author argued that an educated population is not a threat to the PPP/C as a political entity nor as a government. Rather, an educated population would systematically disprove the aforesaid presuppositions, with irrefutable empiricism. The third force proponents presuppositions are hinged upon an unscientific basis.
The following characterizations can be ascribed to an educated population, contrary to the views of the proponents of third force politics:
- An educated population will not have to rely on the likes of the third force proponents and their aligned psychologists’ unscientific propagation;
- An educated population won’t have to subject themselves to the rhetoric of any politician and/or entity. They would be able to conduct their own critical analysis;
- An educated population would recognize bias with little to no effort;
- An educated population understands the difference between a fictional world and a world engendered by realism and pragmatism;
- An educated population would know that “third forces” have consistently failed, and it is unlikely to work;
- What one may regard as the “balance of power”, Guyanese have seen the dangers of this in the 2012 (pre-2015) political dispensation. Nothing gets done and the country effectively becomes ungovernable;
- What one may regard as the “balance of power”, Guyanese have seen the dangers of this in the 2012 (pre-2015) political dispensation. Nothing gets done and the country effectively becomes ungovernable;
An educated population would know that there is no fact nor truth to the notion that the PPP/C is a racial party. Narratives and rhetorics are not facts. When challenged, the third force proponents have all failed to identify a single policy or racial feature of the PPP/C. It can’t be the cabinet, the cabinet is diverse and looks like Guyana; it can’t be the public service, which is dominated by our Afro-Guyanese; it can’t be the judiciary, the judiciary is led by two of the most powerful Afro-Guyanese women in the country; some of the best and highest paid technocrats within the public service are Afro-Guyanese. So, where is the racial feature? There is none.
On the subject of Guysuco, which the third force proponents often reference…An educated population would not ignore the equal amount of subsidy for electricity in Region ten (10). Why single out Guysuco and not Region ten? An educated population would know of the economic impacts of Guysuco, and not only through a warped political lens. Afro-Guyanese were also impacted, more than 7,000 families affected and 40,000 dependents. An educated population would know that the APNU Government disregarded their own advice, inter alia, the Commission of Inquiry (COI) into Guysuco, to not close any of the estates at that time. An educated population would know that if an industry is no longer viable, to transition out of that takes time. The economy is already on that transition path, inter alia, an aggressive economic diversification and transformation agenda
While this author challenged the third force proponents to demonstrate a single racial policy of the PPP/C Government, which they have failed to do. Hereunder, is a demonstration of how one of the proponents’ unscientific, biased theory is flawed and therefore has no basis in fact, logic, or sound reasoning.
To this end, lets examine the theory: an educated population is a threat to the PPP/C politics. This is a multidimensionally flawed presupposition. The PPP/C Government has a scholarship programme targeting over 30,000 persons. Guyanese from all ethnic groups including members of the opposition are beneficiaries. The Government has demonstrated their commitment to provide free tertiary education, whereby they have already signaled the conditions that this will come with. Those conditions are: improved quality tuition, and improved management and administration of the institution. All Guyanese attend the University of Guyana (UG) from all ethnic groups.
That’s not all. If at all, there was any merit to the proponents’ theory, then why would the Government remove taxes from private education, aimed at promoting a private sector educational sector. There are atleast three tertiary educational institutions that are privately operating in Guyana, that are churning out undergraduate and post-graduate degrees. If the PPP/C Government wanted an uneducated population, then why such a policy? More so, if there was any merit to that notion, then why liberalize the telecommunication sector? The internet is another source of education. In this respect, there are many internationally accredited and recognized universities all over the world that offer distance/online education. Thus, cheap, and reliable internet access is aimed at helping to educate the population.
Proponents of the “third force” politics, especially those who subscribe to third force politics, must always bear in mind that the nature and intricacies of politics have been the same since the beginning of time and will remain so until the end of time. Meaning, that the notion whereby a third-party political force will seek to hold the balance of power is an illusion. The moment that one becomes a politician, and a political organization is formed to contest an election, and wins at least one seat, much less six, it is no longer about balance of power. Once any political entity is indoctrinated into the political economy matrix, it is always about power. Politics is not about balancing power; it always has been about power. An educated population would be mindful of this phenomenon called “politics”.
As such, whether it’s recycled politicians or a new breed of politicians, nothing changes when it comes to politics. The danger that currently prevails with the current crop of third force aspirants is that they are all very inexperience, mediocre, amateur, and disingenuous. These characteristics will stymie, once again, Guyana’s development trajectory, should a third force succeed.