Features
On Third Way Centrists and neoliberal authoritarians
By Uditha Devapriya
Historically, the United National Party was a party of businessmen, traders, and rentiers. It underwent two shifts in its early phase: under the Senanayakes (1948-1977), and under J. R. Jayewardene (1977-1989). Under Ranasinghe Premadasa (1989-1993) it went through its third shift, enacting somewhat progressive economic measures while fortifying the State’s military and defence sectors. The measures which are most often invoked by commentators today are janasaviya, the Garment Factories, and the ‘peoplization’ of bus services, as well as the leasing of plantations to only local companies.
It was during this time, moreover, that the Institute of Policy Studies (IPS), headed by economists and academics like Dr Howard Nicholas, began serious discussions about industrialisation. That such institutions have moved away from their mandates – as Ahilan Kadirgmar has clearly noted – tells us much about the policies that should have stayed after Premadasa’s assassination. It also tells us about the policy paradigms that came into effect and moved to the mainstream, throughout the Third World, in the mid-1990s: put simply, from their fealty to socialist planning and to industrialisation, Marxist and left-wing parties in Asia and Africa, including in South Asia, turned to the right.
These shifts must be seen in the context of their time. The collapse of the Soviet Union had drained socialist politics of credibility, especially in countries like India and Sri Lanka. The resurgence of the Right, initially in Indonesia, then in Chile, Sri Lanka, the US, and UK, had led to the destruction of entire national industries, the financialization of entire economies, and the emasculation of entire working-class movements. These governments had enacted reforms that crippled trade unions, but empowered a middle class bourgeoisie that enabled right-wing parties to remain in power – as the UNP found out in 1982 and 1989.
Left-wing parties, as well as parties which espoused a Third Way between capitalism and communism, took time to accommodate these developments. The neoliberal wave of the 1980s deprived the Marxist Left of its two most important foundations: national industries and trade unions. Its credos had been the ownership of the means of production and the equitable distribution of income and wealth. Lacking the wherewithal to commit to either, the Left slowly compromised on its ideals: in the mid-1980s, the Democratic Party in the US and the Labour Party in the UK thus embraced the tenets of Third Way Centrism. When the Right crumbled under the weight of its contradictions, and authoritarian governments in the Third World were toppled and defeated, it was these Centrists who took over.
It must be noted that Third Way Centrism would not have materialised without the collapse of the Soviet Union. The latter event made redundant the kind of anti-communist rhetoric that Republicans in the US and Conservatives in the UK had been deploying for decades. This made it possible for Centrists to come to power by appropriating the economic policies of the Right while retaining some socially progressive measures: in the UK, for instance, the Blair government continued Margaret Thatcher’s labour policies, while moving closer to the European Union and enforcing its employment clauses.
Yet these developments underlay a fatal contradiction, between the deindustrialisation of these economies, the financialization of their markets, and colossal job losses in former industrial zones, like Michigan in the US. Coupled with China’s entry into the World Trade Organization and its later phenomenal rise, these fed into xenophobic fears of being taken over by migrants and other economies. Meanwhile, Sri Lanka faced a renaissance in Third Way Centrist politics, symbolised by the election of the Sri Lanka Freedom Party under Chandrika Kumaratunga in 1994 – and, more fittingly, by the UNP’s shift from Ranasinghe Premadasa’s policies to his successor’s neoliberal outlook.
In other words, it was at the point of socialism’s global downfall that the Centrists took over. But the Centrists in Sri Lanka continued in power long after their colleagues in the West had been swamped by the nationalist opprobrium their policies had provoked. In the UK, the Labour Party lost power in 2010, while a (relatively) moderate Conservative Party ceded to a right-wing fringe in 2016. British politics has never recovered since. In the US, the disastrous financialization and deregulation of the economy, initiated by Ronald Reagan, encouraged by Bill Clinton, and pursued to a catastrophic climax by George W. Bush, led to the bailout of the corporate sector by Barack Obama and a reversion to the tenets of industrialisation by the Trump and, much more constructively, the Biden administrations.
Sri Lanka’s civil society justified Centrism by posing it against a rising wave of Sinhala nationalism. In other words, Sri Lanka’s liberal intelligentsia saw Third Way Centrism as an alternative to chauvinism: to them, it was not “socialism or barbarism”, but “centrism or barbarism.” Such Manichean distinctions failed to explain why nationalism could enter the political mainstream in countries like Sri Lanka. Yet civil society went on to deploy those distinctions against their nationalist opponents, even as Western governments realised that nationalism was a product of an economic system badly in need of repair.
It is for these reasons that I find Sri Lankan civil society’s obsession with Sinhala nationalism to be unhelpful and counterproductive. Doubtless, there are important convergences between authoritarianism and nationalism. Doubtless, these convergences have been for the worse. And doubtless, it is these convergences that the present political set-up in Sri Lanka is benefiting from. The SLPP has tapped into, and is tapping into, ethno-supremacism of the worst sort, which is not just exclusionary, but uncontrollable. It has played around, and is playing around, with a political discourse charged by majoritarian sentiment. The SLPP may or may not be intrinsically motivated by these elements, but its deployment of them has led to the unnecessary fragmentation of the country’s polity.
However, in focusing almost completely on the linkages between authoritarianism and nationalism, liberal and left-liberal circles have ignored the economic dimensions of those linkages. This is why, with the same breath with which they deplore the Wickremesinghe regime’s authoritarian drive, certain commentators can commend the Budget for being “more good than bad.” Such sentiments are puzzling at best and convoluted at worst, but once you trace them to civil society’s prioritisation of personalities (the Rajapaksas as the bête noire of liberal politics) over institutions and political systems, indeed over economic policies, they become easier to understand and dissect.
It goes without saying that the focus of liberal commentators today has shifted to the prospect of Mahinda or Basil Rajapaksa’s return, rather than the neoliberal authoritarian culture being institutionalised by a conspicuously non-Rajapaksa President.
These commentators do not necessarily prefer Ranil Wickremesinghe, but their fixation with him for over two decades as a Centrist hero has not waned. This may be contradictory from a liberal perspective, but not so if you account for the ideological complexities of Sri Lanka’s civil society, which has, historically, preferred an “enemy’s enemy is my friend” strategy to practical politics. These complexities have led the country’s civil society to commit two blunders: to view the Rajapaksas as the sole cause of the country’s problems, and to ignore the economic dimensions of those problems. Hence the dichotomies they deploy against their ideological opponents, and hence their ambivalent attitude to Ranil Wickremesinghe, whom they consider authoritarian, but also amenable on issues like the National Question, which have turned Tamil parties into cautious allies of the government.
The US has experienced the consequences of neglecting the economic dimensions of these issues. Most Americans did not vote for Trump, yet he assumed the presidency through a systemic anomaly. Trump came to power wooing dispossessed blue-collar workers. Not a few among them preferred Bernie Sanders. But they wanted Sanders, not Clinton: hence when the latter replaced the former as the Democratic candidate, they switched. Chastened by these lessons, the Biden administration abandoned financialization and is overseeing the re industrialisation of the American economy. This policy, writes Cédric Durand in the New Left Review, “points to a structural break in the regulation of capitalism, the shock-waves of which will reverberate in the global political economy for years to come.”
Will Sri Lanka learn these lessons? The government and civil society have locked horns with each other. Civil society sees the government as authoritarian, while the government sees civil society as an obstacle that should be cut off. Lost in all these confrontations are the debates that should matter, such as the industrialisation of the economy. The longer these issues are ignored, the more pronounced and dangerous their repercussions will be. Unless someone initiates a discussion, or even a conversation, the neglect of these issues will lead to resistance from both sides: from a civil society that venerates Centrism politically and is yet to renounce neoliberalism economically, and from a political system which has, for over half a century, embraced and fetishized neoliberal authoritarianism.
The writer is an international relations analyst, researcher, and columnist who can be reached at udakdev1@gmail.com
by Dr Gotabhya Ranasinghe
Senior Consultant Cardiologist
National Hospital Sri Lanka
When we sought a meeting with Hon Dr. Ramesh Pathirana, Minister of Health, he graciously cleared his busy schedule to accommodate us. Renowned for his attentive listening and deep understanding, Minister Pathirana is dedicated to advancing the health sector. His openness and transparency exemplify the qualities of an exemplary politician and minister.
Dr. Palitha Mahipala, the current Health Secretary, demonstrates both commendable enthusiasm and unwavering support. This combination of attributes makes him a highly compatible colleague for the esteemed Minister of Health.
Our discussion centered on a project that has been in the works for the past 30 years, one that no other minister had managed to advance.
Minister Pathirana, however, recognized the project’s significance and its potential to revolutionize care for heart patients.
The project involves the construction of a state-of-the-art facility at the premises of the National Hospital Colombo. The project’s location within the premises of the National Hospital underscores its importance and relevance to the healthcare infrastructure of the nation.
This facility will include a cardiology building and a tertiary care center, equipped with the latest technology to handle and treat all types of heart-related conditions and surgeries.
Securing funding was a major milestone for this initiative. Minister Pathirana successfully obtained approval for a $40 billion loan from the Asian Development Bank. With the funding in place, the foundation stone is scheduled to be laid in September this year, and construction will begin in January 2025.
This project guarantees a consistent and uninterrupted supply of stents and related medications for heart patients. As a result, patients will have timely access to essential medical supplies during their treatment and recovery. By securing these critical resources, the project aims to enhance patient outcomes, minimize treatment delays, and maintain the highest standards of cardiac care.
Upon its fruition, this monumental building will serve as a beacon of hope and healing, symbolizing the unwavering dedication to improving patient outcomes and fostering a healthier society.We anticipate a future marked by significant progress and positive outcomes in Sri Lanka’s cardiovascular treatment landscape within the foreseeable timeframe.
by Fr. Emmanuel Fernando, OMI
Jesuit Fr. Aloysius Pieris (affectionately called Fr. Aloy) celebrated his 90th birthday on April 9, 2024 and I, as the editor of our Oblate Journal, THE MISSIONARY OBLATE had gone to press by that time. Immediately I decided to publish an article, appreciating the untiring selfless services he continues to offer for inter-Faith dialogue, the renewal of the Catholic Church, his concern for the poor and the suffering Sri Lankan masses and to me, the present writer.
It was in 1988, when I was appointed Director of the Oblate Scholastics at Ampitiya by the then Oblate Provincial Fr. Anselm Silva, that I came to know Fr. Aloy more closely. Knowing well his expertise in matters spiritual, theological, Indological and pastoral, and with the collaborative spirit of my companion-formators, our Oblate Scholastics were sent to Tulana, the Research and Encounter Centre, Kelaniya, of which he is the Founder-Director, for ‘exposure-programmes’ on matters spiritual, biblical, theological and pastoral. Some of these dimensions according to my view and that of my companion-formators, were not available at the National Seminary, Ampitiya.
Ever since that time, our Oblate formators/ accompaniers at the Oblate Scholasticate, Ampitiya , have continued to send our Oblate Scholastics to Tulana Centre for deepening their insights and convictions regarding matters needed to serve the people in today’s context. Fr. Aloy also had tried very enthusiastically with the Oblate team headed by Frs. Oswald Firth and Clement Waidyasekara to begin a Theologate, directed by the Religious Congregations in Sri Lanka, for the contextual formation/ accompaniment of their members. It should very well be a desired goal of the Leaders / Provincials of the Religious Congregations.
Besides being a formator/accompanier at the Oblate Scholasticate, I was entrusted also with the task of editing and publishing our Oblate journal, ‘The Missionary Oblate’. To maintain the quality of the journal I continue to depend on Fr. Aloy for his thought-provoking and stimulating articles on Biblical Spirituality, Biblical Theology and Ecclesiology. I am very grateful to him for his generous assistance. Of late, his writings on renewal of the Church, initiated by Pope St. John XX111 and continued by Pope Francis through the Synodal path, published in our Oblate journal, enable our readers to focus their attention also on the needed renewal in the Catholic Church in Sri Lanka. Fr. Aloy appreciated very much the Synodal path adopted by the Jesuit Pope Francis for the renewal of the Church, rooted very much on prayerful discernment. In my Religious and presbyteral life, Fr.Aloy continues to be my spiritual animator / guide and ongoing formator / acccompanier.
Fr. Aloysius Pieris, BA Hons (Lond), LPh (SHC, India), STL (PFT, Naples), PhD (SLU/VC), ThD (Tilburg), D.Ltt (KU), has been one of the eminent Asian theologians well recognized internationally and one who has lectured and held visiting chairs in many universities both in the West and in the East. Many members of Religious Congregations from Asian countries have benefited from his lectures and guidance in the East Asian Pastoral Institute (EAPI) in Manila, Philippines. He had been a Theologian consulted by the Federation of Asian Bishops’ Conferences for many years. During his professorship at the Gregorian University in Rome, he was called to be a member of a special group of advisers on other religions consulted by Pope Paul VI.
Fr. Aloy is the author of more than 30 books and well over 500 Research Papers. Some of his books and articles have been translated and published in several countries. Among those books, one can find the following: 1) The Genesis of an Asian Theology of Liberation (An Autobiographical Excursus on the Art of Theologising in Asia, 2) An Asian Theology of Liberation, 3) Providential Timeliness of Vatican 11 (a long-overdue halt to a scandalous millennium, 4) Give Vatican 11 a chance, 5) Leadership in the Church, 6) Relishing our faith in working for justice (Themes for study and discussion), 7) A Message meant mainly, not exclusively for Jesuits (Background information necessary for helping Francis renew the Church), 8) Lent in Lanka (Reflections and Resolutions, 9) Love meets wisdom (A Christian Experience of Buddhism, 10) Fire and Water 11) God’s Reign for God’s poor, 12) Our Unhiddden Agenda (How we Jesuits work, pray and form our men). He is also the Editor of two journals, Vagdevi, Journal of Religious Reflection and Dialogue, New Series.
Fr. Aloy has a BA in Pali and Sanskrit from the University of London and a Ph.D in Buddhist Philosophy from the University of Sri Lankan, Vidyodaya Campus. On Nov. 23, 2019, he was awarded the prestigious honorary Doctorate of Literature (D.Litt) by the Chancellor of the University of Kelaniya, the Most Venerable Welamitiyawe Dharmakirthi Sri Kusala Dhamma Thera.
Fr. Aloy continues to be a promoter of Gospel values and virtues. Justice as a constitutive dimension of love and social concern for the downtrodden masses are very much noted in his life and work. He had very much appreciated the commitment of the late Fr. Joseph (Joe) Fernando, the National Director of the Social and Economic Centre (SEDEC) for the poor.
In Sri Lanka, a few religious Congregations – the Good Shepherd Sisters, the Christian Brothers, the Marist Brothers and the Oblates – have invited him to animate their members especially during their Provincial Congresses, Chapters and International Conferences. The mainline Christian Churches also have sought his advice and followed his seminars. I, for one, regret very much, that the Sri Lankan authorities of the Catholic Church –today’s Hierarchy—- have not sought Fr.
Aloy’s expertise for the renewal of the Catholic Church in Sri Lanka and thus have not benefited from the immense store of wisdom and insight that he can offer to our local Church while the Sri Lankan bishops who governed the Catholic church in the immediate aftermath of the Second Vatican Council (Edmund Fernando OMI, Anthony de Saram, Leo Nanayakkara OSB, Frank Marcus Fernando, Paul Perera,) visited him and consulted him on many matters. Among the Tamil Bishops, Bishop Rayappu Joseph was keeping close contact with him and Bishop J. Deogupillai hosted him and his team visiting him after the horrible Black July massacre of Tamils.
Sri Lanka-Singapore Free Trade Agreement
By Gomi Senadhira
senadhiragomi@gmail.com
“You might tell fairy tales, but the progress of a country cannot be achieved through such narratives. A country cannot be developed by making false promises. The country moved backward because of the electoral promises made by political parties throughout time. We have witnessed that the ultimate result of this is the country becoming bankrupt. Unfortunately, many segments of the population have not come to realize this yet.” – President Ranil Wickremesinghe, 2024 Budget speech
Any Sri Lankan would agree with the above words of President Wickremesinghe on the false promises our politicians and officials make and the fairy tales they narrate which bankrupted this country. So, to understand this, let’s look at one such fairy tale with lots of false promises; Ranil Wickremesinghe’s greatest achievement in the area of international trade and investment promotion during the Yahapalana period, Sri Lanka-Singapore Free Trade Agreement (SLSFTA).
It is appropriate and timely to do it now as Finance Minister Wickremesinghe has just presented to parliament a bill on the National Policy on Economic Transformation which includes the establishment of an Office for International Trade and the Sri Lanka Institute of Economics and International Trade.
Was SLSFTA a “Cleverly negotiated Free Trade Agreement” as stated by the (former) Minister of Development Strategies and International Trade Malik Samarawickrama during the Parliamentary Debate on the SLSFTA in July 2018, or a colossal blunder covered up with lies, false promises, and fairy tales? After SLSFTA was signed there were a number of fairy tales published on this agreement by the Ministry of Development Strategies and International, Institute of Policy Studies, and others.
However, for this article, I would like to limit my comments to the speech by Minister Samarawickrama during the Parliamentary Debate, and the two most important areas in the agreement which were covered up with lies, fairy tales, and false promises, namely: revenue loss for Sri Lanka and Investment from Singapore. On the other important area, “Waste products dumping” I do not want to comment here as I have written extensively on the issue.
1. The revenue loss
During the Parliamentary Debate in July 2018, Minister Samarawickrama stated “…. let me reiterate that this FTA with Singapore has been very cleverly negotiated by us…. The liberalisation programme under this FTA has been carefully designed to have the least impact on domestic industry and revenue collection. We have included all revenue sensitive items in the negative list of items which will not be subject to removal of tariff. Therefore, 97.8% revenue from Customs duty is protected. Our tariff liberalisation will take place over a period of 12-15 years! In fact, the revenue earned through tariffs on goods imported from Singapore last year was Rs. 35 billion.
The revenue loss for over the next 15 years due to the FTA is only Rs. 733 million– which when annualised, on average, is just Rs. 51 million. That is just 0.14% per year! So anyone who claims the Singapore FTA causes revenue loss to the Government cannot do basic arithmetic! Mr. Speaker, in conclusion, I call on my fellow members of this House – don’t mislead the public with baseless criticism that is not grounded in facts. Don’t look at petty politics and use these issues for your own political survival.”
I was surprised to read the minister’s speech because an article published in January 2018 in “The Straits Times“, based on information released by the Singaporean Negotiators stated, “…. With the FTA, tariff savings for Singapore exports are estimated to hit $10 million annually“.
As the annual tariff savings (that is the revenue loss for Sri Lanka) calculated by the Singaporean Negotiators, Singaporean $ 10 million (Sri Lankan rupees 1,200 million in 2018) was way above the rupees’ 733 million revenue loss for 15 years estimated by the Sri Lankan negotiators, it was clear to any observer that one of the parties to the agreement had not done the basic arithmetic!
Six years later, according to a report published by “The Morning” newspaper, speaking at the Committee on Public Finance (COPF) on 7th May 2024, Mr Samarawickrama’s chief trade negotiator K.J. Weerasinghehad had admitted “…. that forecasted revenue loss for the Government of Sri Lanka through the Singapore FTA is Rs. 450 million in 2023 and Rs. 1.3 billion in 2024.”
If these numbers are correct, as tariff liberalisation under the SLSFTA has just started, we will pass Rs 2 billion very soon. Then, the question is how Sri Lanka’s trade negotiators made such a colossal blunder. Didn’t they do their basic arithmetic? If they didn’t know how to do basic arithmetic they should have at least done their basic readings. For example, the headline of the article published in The Straits Times in January 2018 was “Singapore, Sri Lanka sign FTA, annual savings of $10m expected”.
Anyway, as Sri Lanka’s chief negotiator reiterated at the COPF meeting that “…. since 99% of the tariffs in Singapore have zero rates of duty, Sri Lanka has agreed on 80% tariff liberalisation over a period of 15 years while expecting Singapore investments to address the imbalance in trade,” let’s turn towards investment.
Investment from Singapore
In July 2018, speaking during the Parliamentary Debate on the FTA this is what Minister Malik Samarawickrama stated on investment from Singapore, “Already, thanks to this FTA, in just the past two-and-a-half months since the agreement came into effect we have received a proposal from Singapore for investment amounting to $ 14.8 billion in an oil refinery for export of petroleum products. In addition, we have proposals for a steel manufacturing plant for exports ($ 1 billion investment), flour milling plant ($ 50 million), sugar refinery ($ 200 million). This adds up to more than $ 16.05 billion in the pipeline on these projects alone.
And all of these projects will create thousands of more jobs for our people. In principle approval has already been granted by the BOI and the investors are awaiting the release of land the environmental approvals to commence the project.
I request the Opposition and those with vested interests to change their narrow-minded thinking and join us to develop our country. We must always look at what is best for the whole community, not just the few who may oppose. We owe it to our people to courageously take decisions that will change their lives for the better.”
According to the media report I quoted earlier, speaking at the Committee on Public Finance (COPF) Chief Negotiator Weerasinghe has admitted that Sri Lanka was not happy with overall Singapore investments that have come in the past few years in return for the trade liberalisation under the Singapore-Sri Lanka Free Trade Agreement. He has added that between 2021 and 2023 the total investment from Singapore had been around $162 million!
What happened to those projects worth $16 billion negotiated, thanks to the SLSFTA, in just the two-and-a-half months after the agreement came into effect and approved by the BOI? I do not know about the steel manufacturing plant for exports ($ 1 billion investment), flour milling plant ($ 50 million) and sugar refinery ($ 200 million).
However, story of the multibillion-dollar investment in the Petroleum Refinery unfolded in a manner that would qualify it as the best fairy tale with false promises presented by our politicians and the officials, prior to 2019 elections.
Though many Sri Lankans got to know, through the media which repeatedly highlighted a plethora of issues surrounding the project and the questionable credentials of the Singaporean investor, the construction work on the Mirrijiwela Oil Refinery along with the cement factory began on the24th of March 2019 with a bang and Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe and his ministers along with the foreign and local dignitaries laid the foundation stones.
That was few months before the 2019 Presidential elections. Inaugurating the construction work Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe said the projects will create thousands of job opportunities in the area and surrounding districts.
The oil refinery, which was to be built over 200 acres of land, with the capacity to refine 200,000 barrels of crude oil per day, was to generate US$7 billion of exports and create 1,500 direct and 3,000 indirect jobs. The construction of the refinery was to be completed in 44 months. Four years later, in August 2023 the Cabinet of Ministers approved the proposal presented by President Ranil Wickremesinghe to cancel the agreement with the investors of the refinery as the project has not been implemented! Can they explain to the country how much money was wasted to produce that fairy tale?
It is obvious that the President, ministers, and officials had made huge blunders and had deliberately misled the public and the parliament on the revenue loss and potential investment from SLSFTA with fairy tales and false promises.
As the president himself said, a country cannot be developed by making false promises or with fairy tales and these false promises and fairy tales had bankrupted the country. “Unfortunately, many segments of the population have not come to realize this yet”.
(The writer, a specialist and an activist on trade and development issues . )
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