Economist Professor Frank Alleyne warned Barbadians to "adjust
or be adjusted" to the dizzying pace of globalisation, and recognise that "the world no longer owes anybody
in Barbados a living".

Stressing that globalisation had an impact on all the economic aspects, Alleyne asserted that contrary to popular local belief, it was not driven by governments.

"The real force driving globalisation is the big powerful business interests across the
world. Governments merely put the regulations in place," he said.

His comments were made while delivering
a public lecture Educating In A Global Environment, as part
of the 60th anniversary celebrations of Erdiston Teachers' Training College at the college's lecture theatre last week.

He observed that in some instances businesses had budgets larger than the revenues of national governments, and he cautioned, "we have
to watch the growth
and power of these
very large companies".

He noted that in this new phase of globalisation, there was a return
of multinational corporations to areas from which they had retreated.

The difference was
that they were now being facilitated by information communication technology which no longer made
it necessary to have a physical plant located in the "peripheral countries".

He cited local conglomerate Sagicor,
now listed on the London Stock Exchange, as an example of a company with "world reach".

Observing that growth in the power of large corporations could compromise the sovereignty of small states, he was quick
to point out that the businesses themselves were signalling the
need to achieve "a
certain critical mass"
in order to compete
on the world stage.

"We have to recognise that we can no longer think in terms of standards for Barbados . . . in terms of the educational system . . . in terms
of whatever we do, we have to recognise that
we are competing in
a global environment," Alleyne said.

He added: "Even
if we act local, we
have to think global."
(GC)