Dennis A. Minott | Memoriam: Cynthia Elaine Lewis PhD
/ Our Today
administratorA Clarified Map of “Billioneering” – A short economic planning and diagnostic tool
Precisely three years and two days ago, my colleague, business partner, finest thought-clarifier, and most erudite friend, Dr Cynthia Elaine Lewis, passed over into Glory Land. She died suddenly on December 31, 2022.
Jamaica, the wider Caribbean, and our group, ENERPLAN Verde Siempre, lost a summa cum laude biochemist, bio-energist, and animal nutritionist of rare depth. Cynthia was also a luminous listener. It was not unusual for C.E.L.—her handle within our group—to pause a discussion and gently ask for a clearer explanation of one’s thinking. She demanded precision not to dominate conversation, but to honour truth.
Toward the end of 2022, shortly before her passing, I coined the syllogism billioneering. Cynthia asked me—quietly but insistently—to define it rigorously. At the time, I did my best. It was not enough.
What follows is a clarified, teachable comparative map—designed to be quotable, writable-on, and difficult to misrepresent.
I dedicate it to her memory.
A Comparative Map: Billioneering vs. Entrepreneurship vs. Development Capitalism
| ID | Dimension | Billioneering | Entrepreneurship | Development Capitalism |
| α (alpha) | Core motive | Private enrichment at billionaire scale via state leverage | Value creation through innovation and risk | Broad-based national development, with profit as a means, not the end |
| β (beta) | Relationship to the state | Captures the state; bends policy, law, and procurement | Operates within rules; lobbies transparently | Partners with a strong, accountable state |
| γ (gamma) | Source of profit | Concessions, monopolies, exemptions, crisis arbitrage | Products, services, efficiency, creativity | Productive investment, learning spillovers, scale |
| δ (delta) | Risk bearing | Socialised: public absorbs debt, loss, and environmental cost | Privatised: entrepreneur bears failure | Shared, explicit, and regulated |
| ε (epsilon) | Use of crisis | Exploits emergencies to fast-track deals | Adapts creatively to constraints | Mobilises crisis to build resilience |
| ζ (zeta) | Treatment of regulation | Seeks carve-outs and waivers | Seeks clarity and fairness | Uses regulation as developmental scaffolding |
| η (eta) | Impact on inequality | Deepens inequality; concentrates wealth | Can increase or reduce inequality | Intentionally reduces inequality |
| θ (theta) | Time horizon | Short- to medium-term extraction | Medium- to long-term growth | Long-term nation-building |
| ι (iota) | Narrative justification | “No alternative,” “investor confidence,” “too big to fail” | “Build, test, improve” | “Shared prosperity,” “productive capacity” |
| κ (kappa) | Democratic effect | Corrosive; hollows out trust | Neutral to positive | Strengthening; legitimacy through results |
| λ (lambda) | Moral character | Predatory, technocratically disguised | Creative, disciplined | Stewardship-driven |
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