Norman Girvan – a personal reminiscence
By Yash Tandon
On 26 March 2008 the Sir Arthur Lewis Institute of Social and Economic Studies (SALISES) held its ninth annual conference in Jamaica in honor of Professor Norman Girvan and I was invited to give the keynote address in his honor. The conference called for ‘Reinventing the Political Economy Tradition of the Caribbean’ to which Norman had dedicated his whole life.
I had known Norman by reputation since the early 1970s whilst I was teaching at the University of Dar es Salaam. Norman had come out of the Latin American ‘Dependencia School’ to which he had made a distinct contribution. In essence this ‘School’ argued that the global economy was divided between the ‘Centre’ (comprising the developed countries of the west) and the ‘periphery’ (comprising the ‘South’); and that in order for the ‘South’ to develop they must adopt policies to protect their infant manufacturing built largely on domestic capital. One of the key proponents of this ‘school’ was the Argentinian Raul Prebisch, the main architect of the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD). Norman’s book Foreign Capital and Economic Underdevelopment in Jamaica was part of the reading for my students on a course on the political economy of East Africa.
Some thirty years later we met at a conference in Nicaragua, and we became close friends and confidants. In 2004 I was appointed the Executive Director of the South Centre with some prodding, I might add, from Norman and political friends in Africa. Norman was on the Board of the South Centre. The Centre was at the time passing through some difficult time on account of the financial and governance problems following the sudden death of its founder Chairman, Mwalimu Julius Nyerere. During my tenure of office as its ED from 2005 to 2009, the Board members were able to put things on a secure footing. Among the members that took a strong, principled position on several very challenging decisions that had to be made was Norman Girvan. In fact, I would say that Norman provided the political and moral leadership. In the April 14, 2014 issue of CounterPunch, Anton Allahar in his tribute to Norman said: ‘Professor Norman Girvan is going to live on with all of us who value humility, integrity, human decency and socialist morality.’ That perfectly sums up the man’s qualities – his basic decency, humility and humanity.
We worked closely on several matters of concern to the South, among them the issue of signing the Economic Partnership Agreement (EPA) between the European Union and the African, Caribbean and Pacific (ACP) countries. Norman had taken a strong position against the Caribbean signing the EPA on the terms proposed by the EU. But despite his warnings, the EPA was signed. Subsequent developments showed that Norman was correct in his apprehensions about the EPA. In Africa we are still fighting that battle, and Norman’s analysis of the post-EPA Caribbean is a red alert for us.
At the 2008 SALISES conference the Caribbean community – not only academia but also people from governments and non-governmental organisations – gave recognition to this distinguished son of the Caribbean. He had been a leading light on pushing for the integration of the Caribbean community. Towards the end of my keynote address at that conference I had said: ‘Norman, as an organic intellectual, and as member of an organic institution, you must continue with your struggle against the EPAs and against the divide and rule strategies of the imperial powers against our countries and peoples. You must swim the ocean along with the rest of us. You will no doubt be thrown out of the ocean by the powerful counter currents, but go back into it. Do not retreat into the dry beach; do not retreat into the academic world of “heterodox economics” in order to write “peer reviewed” erudite papers for reputed conferences and journals of the North. Go back into the sea, if necessary, as it would be, again and again and again. Fight against the currents. Only dead fish float back to the beaches. Live ones struggle against the currents and get back into the ocean. Norman, pardon the expression, but you are a live fish!’
Alas, on April 10, 2014, Norman finally succumbed to the inevitable. Following his dreadful fall in the mountains of Dominica he survived only for three months. Norman, you have left behind an inspiring legacy. You will be missed, but your legacy, your dream, will live on. Rest in Peace!
Yash Tandon is former Executive Director of the South Centre (2005-2009).
