Upcoming Book: “Neoliberalism, Globalization, Income Inequality, Poverty and Resistance"

My upcoming book is divided into two  parts. Part A will examine whether or not Jamaica’s inequality trends from 1980 – up to the beginning of the 21st century was a consequence of the structural adjustment policies stipulated by the neo-liberal technocrats of the ‘Washington Consensus’ on Jamaica. We will attempt to do so by tracing the impact of “structural adjustment” on Jamaica’s economy and the relationship to this on income inequality and poverty in Jamaica. We will argue that given the premise, Jamaica presents a unique cause and effect scenario, which continues to question the veracity and validity of the premise that neoliberalism is the “sine qua non” of development. 

Part B of the Book will argue, given Jamaica’s experience with neoliberal restructuring. that Jamaica like many former colonies are far from independent. The fact is that decolonization and “neoliberal globalization”

 has deepened Jamaica’s dependence on the new global elite of the “Washington consensus”. We will explore how Fanon’s ideas apply to the de/re/colonization and neoliberal globalization experience of Jamaica? My own observations are oriented by my interest in the political economy of decolonisation and neoliberal globalization. 

Further, we will consider the response to the processes of decolonization and globalization that have deepened the realities of the peoples of the global south.  Certainly, the Resistance Movement, particularly the Global Justice Movement (GJM) has had hundreds of protests against the “Washington Consensus” and their lackeys since 1976. Street protests and some degree of violence have been the main strategies of the group until recently. But is it closer to achieving its aims? The effectiveness of this resistance movement we call the Global Justice Movement in our discussions here,  will be determined by the extent to which it has realized actual power: “demonstrated change in the desired direction”. 

Finally, we will conclude with a discussion on critiquing the work of nationalists to bring about political independence and equity within and among nations and peoples of the global south including those in the diaspora. For, when nationalists speak in the name of the working class, they leave the impression of espousing a working class political agenda.  However, their project does not break with bourgeois consciousness and they never manage to see a way beyond capitalism. They may imagine ways to reduce foreign penetration, domination and what passes for ‘cultural imperialism,’ however this stance reinforces capitalist class relations and bourgeois ideology while it fails to benefit the working class in any fundamental way. We will explore these limitations and consider possible alternatives.

Look out for my Upcoming Book: “Neoliberalism, Globalization, Income Inequality, Poverty and Resistane", out in March 2021!