It is a natural human tendency to avoid complexity and to provide simple answers to or analyses of complex social and political issues. This can take the form of finding scapegoats for failures or proposing solutions for problems that ignore all the inherent and irreducible difficulties of human activity.

One is tempted to put forward the theory that any analysis that sounds too straightforward or convincing is wrong. It either deliberately ignores facts that are inconvenient or don’t fit in or it is utopian, based on a lack of awareness of what it takes to get things done and the exigencies inherent in all situations. Human nature being what it is, it is often those with the least experience or ability to get things done who pontificate most stridently, seeking to persuade us that a minimum of intelligence (clearly not possessed by those being criticised), is all that is required to set things right.

The human resources situation in Guyana, which has been under pressure for over fifty years due to turbulent politics and economic collapse (which have led to massive emigration and a brain drain) has for some time been at a critical stage . Any analysis that does not factor this into the equation is utopian and absurd. Declaiming roundly on the incompetence of politicians and offering perfect sounding solutions ignores the fact, for example, that they are working with a severely depleted civil service. That is not to say that many of the politicians do not themselves lack the drive and motivation one might wish them to have but even those who do have a spark of energy quickly realise what they’re up against, how hard it has become to make real progress.

Put simply, it is not easy at this stage to get things done quickly and efficiently, even with the best will in the world. The chickens have come home to roost. We are paying the price for decades of political turmoil and the almost complete loss of the traditional middle class with its skills and experience. The picture is the same whether we look at the educational or health sectors, the civil service, the media, the private sector.

Yet the utopian prescriptions proliferate and will continue. If only some of the analysts and letter writers would strive for a realistic awareness of our situation. All Guyanese should by now be beginning to realise that running our own affairs was never going to be easy and that the problems that beset a small, developing country will tax the intelligence and ability of even its most evolved citizens. Ours have been aggravated by radical politics, ethnic division, a brain drain and a failed programme of nationalisation. Reckless politics and bad policies have exacted a very heavy price and chased a lot of people away, who could no longer put up with their increasing alienation from what was going on.