Thompson

The recent arrest of David Smith, head of the Investment Club, Olint, seems to have brought down the curtain (at least for some time to come) on the public acceptability, perceived viability and presumed safety of alternative investment schemes (AIS).

I read with interest in The Sunday Gleaner of February 8, the account of one investor who said "he believed in" David Smith, adding that many had followed him like the Pied Piper. I was equally moved by the reported assertions of one Bishop Peter Morgan, who was quoted as saying "It ain't over yet, as the lady of justice has not yet sung". It is curious that a good many of the investors in Olint (like many other such former clubs) were church people, many of whom could be classified as fundamentalists.

Fundamentalism has many facets, but it is essentially a mode of thinking that holds that truth is located in a single place or only a few places, and as such, is something known by only a few. Fundamentalism is characterised by an uncritical acceptance of the presumed wisdom of some elevated other and those who hold on to their teachings and orders are passionate in their resistance to alternative ideas and perspectives.

IMPLICATIONS FOR SOCIETY

It is somewhat of a contradiction that fundamentalists have demonstrated this high level of risk-taking, as evidenced in the extent of exposure they have created for themselves in alternative schemes. But the degree of risk-taking is not a function of open-mindedness, as some forms of risk-taking are; it is a function of near insularity and narrow thinking.

Given the shortness of memory (or selective amnesia), the implications of fundamentalist thinking, coupled with a paradoxical risk-taking approach, hold sad prospects for the Jamaican society. Some of these are:

(a) High levels of social instability. I am not aware of any estimates of the number of families that are likely to become homeless, due to the loss of their homes on which mortgages were taken, to gamble in these schemes, but speculations are rife that there are many.

(b) Contribution to crime via reprisals and revenge killings. Some schemes required a minimum investment for membership. Many people pooled funds and joined by proxy in the name of one member of the pool who would share the monthly interest. In some cases, the official member is the one who had encouraged the others to join.

(c) Despite (a) and (b) above, the recent schemes are likely to reinforce the foolish belief, in the minds of those who refuse to be critical, that somehow, there are 'genuinely' quick ways to get rich.

Education is designed to help people to think. Thus, a key element of the answer to the problem of Pied Piper followership will be in the degree to which critical thinking is encouraged in the teaching and learning process. Critical thinking is the process of assessing one's reality and developing theories and approaches that are contextual and flexible in order to make sense of that reality and finding solutions to the problems encountered in that context. At the heart of critical thinking is a propensity to be analytical, questioning, probing and curious.

perception of hostility

Many students in our schools are not being taught to be critical thinkers. In a recent study, I found that 40 per cent of high-school students surveyed (in a sample of 160 students) felt that they were not encouraged to question their teachers and principals. The problem is particularly disturbing when one looks at the distribution of responses. Among students of traditional high schools, a whopping 63 per cent felt that leadership was uncomfortable with disagreements. When the unsure category is added, the figure moves to 82 per cent. This picture suggests a perception of hostility to debate and dialogue and to the asking of questions. If students perceive that the accepted mode of behaviour is to do as they are told, then the education system is contributing to the Pied Piper syndrome.

The narrative of the alternative investment schemes could be written as a story about how people narrowed their minds and uncritically took to glitter and thought it was gold. That many churches were involved, is telling. It is a feature of many churches to require their members to take leave of their critical judgment and do whatever the leadership demands. The many killed in the Jones Town massacre in Guyana a few decades ago, were victims of uncritical thinking.

This is not to suggest that non-church people did not invest heavily in these schemes; or that people with presumed or actual financial perspicacity have been untouched; or that the inability to think critically is the only explanation. Rather, the larger point is that a refusal to exercise critical judgment lies at the heart of this meltdown. Greed, sometimes leads to uncritical thinking.

teaching and learning process

It is this uncritical thinking that is landing many youths in trouble. They just follow what their friends say and do what is 'hip', without sufficient regard for the consequences. The cure for this problem begins with the teaching and learning process. Our education system needs an overhaul and the overhaul should begin with the abandonment of some of the old ways of teaching and the adoption of more interactive, self-critical, heterodox forms of pedagogy, which embrace doubt, differences of opinion and questioning, as good and necessary actions on the part of the learner.

Dr Canute Thompson is assistant vice-president at the International University of the Caribbean. He may be reached at canute_thompson@hotmail.com. Feedback may be sent to columns@gleanerjm.com.