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This writer accepts that education enlightens, therefore the belief being held by DLP candidates which leads them to believe that a simple change of government will remove all challenges facing the nation reveals the intellectual shallowness of the opposition or its thirst for power at any cost.

A dictator of yesterday once remarked that it was beyond his comprehension how consensus was ever reached on any matter in a liberal democracy where all shades of opinion were entertained. Education sensitizes one to the many nuances of a situation.

One writer is reported to have said that the French philosopher Voltaire's exposure to Jesuit teaching "gave him the very instrument of analysis by teaching him dialectic-the art of proving anything, and therefore at last the habit of believing nothing". It is a well established fact that education produces some of the world's biggest cynics.

Under these circumstances are we to believe that having benefited from a sound education, an enlightened electorate will uncritically accept a party's call for change without empirical evidence to substantiate such a call? This writer is more led to believe that an enlightened person will be inclined to pursue his self interests in a given situation.

In presenting his argument for change Dr Estwick is quoted in a section of the print media as saying: " With only the construction sector working to enrich certain groups, he did not expect Barbadians to forget their hardships in paying bills and mortgages.

The payment of bills and the honoring of financial commitments have always been a major headache for persons drawn from the working class and the lower middle class. Has he forgotten that this was the case under the Erskine Sandiford administration when civil servants' salaries were cut by 8 per cent and 3000 of them sent home? Wasn't it the Master, Jesus Christ, who said that the poor will always be among us?

Perhaps Estwick has forgotten that some time ago he told Barbadians that research had shown that more than half of the local workforce earned salaries in the range of $3000 or less. If this is the case then it follows that many workers are living on tight budgets in a country where most of the items used are imported from abroad. Are we to assume that with a change of government this situation will change overnight?

Enlightened Barbadians are aware that this will not be the case in the event that there is a change of government. They are conscious of the fact that over the past 13 years the Owen Arthur administration has brought a level of prosperity to the country unheard of in its history . Through his skillful management of the economy unemployment is down to an all time low of 7.1 per cent and our foreign reserves have reached an all time high of $2.2 billion.

A celebrated author once said that twenty-five hundred years of history have not changed man's basic narcissism. Every man born of a woman always wants to know what is in a situation for them. Barbadians are aware that with Arthur at the helm their jobs and homes are secure. He secured Barbados' future in the face of fears of an economic downturn following the events of 9/11 and the unconscionable increases in the price of a barrel of oil.

Armed with these facts, the question must be asked: " Can an enlightened electorate place the fragile Barbados economy in the hands of a person whose only exposure to the discipline of Economics is his random reading of basic texts and the mouthing of trite economic jargon? Can an educated people replace the erudite Owen Arthur as Minister of Finance with a "know all" like Dr Estwick? The answer is an emphatic no. At this time Barbadians are experiencing a sense of security with Arthur as the head of government.
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