LEONARD Craig is a personal friend from a long time back. I taught him the required first-year course in philosophy that all Social Science majors at UG had to undertake.
I did not know that his column and my column would have dealt with the question, does Mr Ram read the books that relate to the issues he raises in his anti-government offerings.
I use the term “anti-government offerings” without it being value-laden. I use the term in an academic context and not as a critical comment, because I think in political discourse and polemical outlines in Guyana, Mr Ram is a consistent anti-government critic. And I believe is so perceived by minds that keenly observe political happenings in Guyana.

I did not know Leonard would have written something about Mr Ram in his column yesterday (Monday) and I would have penned the identical something about Ram. It turns out that his column and my piece in last Monday’s Chronicle have asked the same thing about Ram.
That thing is, when Ram uses a picture from which his conclusions are drawn, does he examine the portrait from all angles so he could get a comprehensive understanding of what the painter is trying to say?
I cannot believe that at his age, Mr Ram would not be familiar with the work of the great French philosopher, Jacques Derrida. Derrida has taken his place as one of the great philosophers the past 200 years.
He founded the philosophy of deconstruction. If you are entering politics or you are in politics, or if you are going to intellectually critique political actions of governments, you should study Derrida. Applying Derrida to Europe’s obsession with Russia will reveal to you why Europe wants to see Russia defeated by Ukraine.

It was never about communism. It was always about Russia. There is no communism in Russia but it is the same old story. Deconstructing European history will tell you why the world may drift into a Third World War; but anyway back to the curiosity – does Ram read the texts he uses to offer his adumbrations?
Leonard Craig claims that in quoting from the document – “Revenue Statistics in Latin America and the Caribbean 2025,” Ram in using the document, argues that a low tax ratio to GDP indicates that Guyana’s economy is not being properly managed.

Quoting from the same document that contradicts what Ram wrote, Craig declares that either Ram did not read the document or is a dishonest analyst.
In the very edition of the Chronicle (last Monday) where Craig’s piece appeared, I wrote this about Ram: “It was Christopher Ram who reviewed Odle’s book and chaired the launching at Moray House. Yet Ram is one of the advocates of forced renegotiation of the Exxon contract. So did Ram really read the book?”

Let’s explain. Ram in a lead letter last Sunday (trust Stabroek News to put all anti-government letters as lead letters, including one yesterday (Monday) by GHK Lall praising Ram’s Sunday missive), argues that Dr Ali should be re-elected and one of the factors he cited is the failure to renegotiate the ExxonMobil contract.
Maurice Odle’s book is his autobiography in which a huge part of this memoir is his experience in working as an economist in the global economy. Odle devotes a sad, pessimistic and shocking chapter on how colonialism transformed itself into the New Imperialism.

The chapter is not good for those who think colonialism and imperialism are sadistic instincts of the past. On the contrary, Odle describes how the West has re-colonised the Third World.
He describes this re-colonisation in graphic terms and gives it the title, the New Imperialism. Reading Odle and listening to emotional calls from certain individuals, including Ram, then you know that Guyana will not be allowed by the West to force ExxonMobil into rewriting the contract.
All the horrible consequences of forced changes to the contract can be understood by reading Odle. When you read how Odle describes his experience of seeing how the West controls the economy of the world and it peripherialises the Global South, you shudder to think what will happen to Guyana if they should force ExxonMobil to return to the negotiation table.
Now Ram reviewed Odle’s memoir, chaired the book-launching ceremony and yet last Sunday published a letter citing President Ali’s refusal to renegotiate the oil contract as one of the reasons he should not be elected. To use Craig’s perspective, Ram either did not read Odle or did not contextualise what he read, or is simply a dishonest analyst. I would disagree with Craig on the last description.

DISCLAIMER: The views and opinions expressed in this column are solely those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of the Guyana National Newspapers Limited.