Resident columnist Dickson Igwe
Now, a society is simply the sum total of individuals, families, and communities that make up that society. A society and a country are synonyms. The Virgin Islands for example is a country. Families and communities make up the wider Virgin Islands society.
The preceding idea of a society is not rocket science. A family’s morals, strengths or weaknesses, is a reflection of the members of that family, and their individual dispositions or characters. It is much the same for organizations. People decide the direction of a business or organization just as people determine a country’s direction.
Society is made of communities of people who work, play, sleep, think, and decide the outcomes of that society. A country is a collection of families, communities, and societies: the sum total of the people that populate the land.
To bring about both social and economic change is not just about managing resources and people by politicians and leaders. It goes deeper.
There is no change without change in the behaviors and mindsets of the people who make up the society and country.
A change in social behavior is crucial for the positive direction of a country, over and above any fine-tuning of the country’s politics and society by elites or leaders. Show me the individual in his or her rawest form and I will have an idea of where he or she will end up in the great play called life.
The same with a country. Show me the people of a country and their morals, values, and culture and that will give me a fair idea of the state of that country.
Change requires courage and resolution. It requires a change of values and culture.
The great movements of history: the arrival of representative democracy; the defeat of fascist tyrannies; social welfare; social justice; international law and order; and more; were driven by great leaders. However, these leaders would never have been able to carry out these historic changes without the masses of the people who were the cogs in the wheels of change.
Transparent, accountable, and honest governance are worthy ideals for the Virgin Islands. The preceding combined with visionary leadership will lead to the Promised Land.
However, without a change in our own individual behaviors that in turn leads to wider social and cultural change, all is in vain.
Dickson Igwe is an education official in the Virgin Islands. He is also a national sea safety instructor. He writes a national column across media and has authored a story book on the Caribbean: ‘The Adventures of a West Indian Villager’. Dickson is focused on economics articles, and he believes economics holds the answer to the full economic and social development of the Caribbean. He is of both West African and Caribbean heritage. Dickson is married with one son.
