The Sociologic Of Political Silence: Explaining A Discourse In Jamaica's Society

The hegemonic categorization of the Jamaican				their interactions in Mauritius. Laxenburg, Austria:
landscape is primarily the justifiable reason for the				International Institute for Applied Systems Analysis.
sophisticated demonstrations and social hemorrhaging.				Banae, Mitiku, E., and Yandell, Dirk. 2006. Development
Many of those happenings are caused from the lack				strategies and opportunities: The case of Africa.
of monologue of the business constituents. This group				Review of Human Factor Studies, 12: 114-133.
of elitists has exponentially benefited from playing the				Academic Research Premier EBSCOhost Research
proletariat class. They have not offered their clientele				Databases. University of the West Indies Library,
the respect of voice on matters of social concerns or				Kingston, Jamaica. 12 September 2006 [
political mismanagement. The present				Beardshaw, J. 1992. Economics: A Students Guide.
government’s socio-economic policies are chiefly				England: Pitman Publishers.
responsible for the erosion of much of the social fibre				Bloom, David E., David Canning, and Jaypee Sevilla.
and economic livelihood of the Jamaican people. The				2004. “The Effect of Health on Economic
poor are not only suffering but they are also				Growth: A Production Function Approach.” World
hemorrhaging while the business class offers the				Development 32, no. 1: 1-13.
society stillness as a tool of needed social change.				Booth, David. (eds). 1994. Rethinking social
PIOJ (2004) report, Economic and Social Survey				development, theory, research and practice. Longman
Jamaica, report confirms that the national poverty				Scientific and Technical. Longman Group Limited.
stood at 16 per cent. Of the 2, 650,900 inhabitants,				Longman House, Burnt Mill, Harlow.
there are 424,144 poor people, which absolute				Chambers, Robert. 1989. Rural development: Putting
valuation seems not to perturb the hegemony of this				the last first. 7th Edition. United Kingdom: Longman
society. In order to attain that social society that we all				House.
desire, justice through actions and deems must be a				Dalzell-Ward, A. (1974). A textbook of health education.
hallmark of the leadership.				London: Tavistock Publications.
The categorization of Jamaicans as poor has been				Easterly, William. 2001. The political economy of growth
declining (Henry-Lee, 2001) but the economic indicators				without development: A Case Study of Pakistan. USA.:
of growth are not impressive as our Caricom				World Bank. Retrieved on October 12, 2006 from [
counterparts. Looking at the absolute figures, the social				Edey, H.C., Peacock, A.T., and Cooper, R.A. 1967.
realities of the peoples are not marginally measured or				National income and social accounting, 4th. London,
understood. Despite the fluctuations in economic				United Kingdom: Hutchinson and Company.
growth valuations, rural poverty continues to be higher				Findlay, Ronald. 1989. W. Arthur Lecture: National and
than the national figures and of those for other towns				Global Perspectives on Economic Development –
and cities. Coupled with the economic hardship of				The two models of Arthur Lewis. National Economic
poverty, rural Jamaica over the last six months is				Association and the Southern Center for Studies in
seeing a dwindling of economic activities. As a social				Public Policy of Clark College.
scientist, I believe that the current tidal waves of price				Francis, Brian and Iyare Sunday. 2006. Education and
increases are eroding the economic livelihood of many				Development in the Caribbean: A Cointegration and
of the poor. This situation means that the economic				Causal Approach. Economics Bulletin 15(2): 1-13.
hardship of the people within the context of the				Retrieved on February 20, 2007 from
hegemony – silence, is destroying the moral and				Friedman, Milton. 1955. The Role of Government in
other social fibre of the poor. "What are poor to do?"				Education. (published on 07/17/2004 4:04:55 PM PDT
‘Once economic growth was taking place, it				by Remember Salamis, viewed on February 27, 2005).
was that poverty would be reduced’				Haq, Klahija, & Kidar, Uner. (1987). Human
(Henry-Lee, 2001, p.202) but this orthodox				Development, Adjustment and Growth. Pakistaqn:
phenomenology may be changing in Jamaican as				North South Round Table.
Gross Domestic Product (GDP) at constant prices				Haque, M. S. 2004. The myths of economic growth
have been increasing (PIOJ, 2004, p.3.1) with a				(GNP): Implications for human development. In Gedeon
simultaneous change in economic hardship of the poor				Mucacumura and M. Shamsul Haque (ed). Handbook
while the hegemonic class expand their physical				of Development Policy Studies. New York: Marcel
surroundings and amass European amenities. To date,				Dekker, 2004. pp.1-24. Retrieved on October 12, 2006
the constant salary, the MTTP (Ministers Tricking the				from
Poor), the minimal bus fare increases (only 67 % -				Haralambos, M & Holborn, M. (1996). Sociology
what!), the huge increases in prices of basic foods and				themes and perspectives. (4th). Collin Education: An
increase in political leadership are making the				Imprint of Harper Collin Publisher.
‘poor’ poorer. Those hurdles are not the				Henry-Lee, Aldrie. 2001. The Dynamics of Poverty in
challenges of the poor as they wrestle with				Jamaica, 1989-1999. Social and Economic Studies 50
‘prince’ and ‘guards’ for sanity.				(1): 199-228.
The electricity increases, instructional materials				Hettne, Bjorn. 1996. Development theory and the Three
increases, the last blatant disdain by the Prime Minister,				Worlds. 2nd Edition. England: Addison Wesley
‘Rt’ honourable Percival James Patterson,				Longman.
for the intellectual mindset of the ‘black’				Hogendorn, Jan S. (1987). Economic Development.
academic is frightening and speaks volume of the				Harper and Row, Publishers, New York.
private sector’s silence.				King, Damien. 2001. The Evolution of Structural
The private sector, despite ‘recognizing’				Adjustment and Stabilization Policy in Jamaica. Social
the challenges of governance and policies formulation				and Economic Studies, volume 50, No. 1. Sir Arthur
of the government, continue to hemorrhage in silence,				Lewis Institute of Social and Economic Studies,
which, I construe, indicates the tenants of the PNP				University of the West Indies, Jamaica.
over the economy. I realize that there is no longer a				Kirdar, Uner. 1987. Adjustment and Growth with Human
unified Jamaica but a PNP, a JLP group and a				Development: A Review. Human Development,
business class. This situation was unfolded to me over				Adjustment and Growth (edited by Khadij Haq and
time as there is not core concern that may create				Uner Kirdar). The North South Roundtable, P.O. Box
unison in order that Jamaicans can forge around with				2006, Islamabad, Pakistan.
the interest of all. Instead, we are ‘Ps’ and				Kurihara, Kenneth K. 1959. The Keynesian Theory of
a ‘B’. The socio-political arena has				Economic Development. Columbia University Press,
changed globally and nationally for the JLP but the				New York
reality is, the average citizenry of this society are still				Kuznets, Simon. 1989. Economic development, the
clamouring for hegemony and social transformation				family, and income distribution. Selected essays. The
though development.				Press Syndicate of the University of Cambridge.
It is the business class that is the engine of growth in all				Lalta, Stanley and Marie Freckleton (Editors). 1993.
societies and not the public sectors. This group dictates				Caribbean Economic Development, the First
the terms of economic activities and stipulates the				Generation. Ian Randle Publishers Limited.
atmosphere of governance but the Jamaican group is				Lee, Jong-Wha. 1993. Economic growth and human
hemorrhaging from fear and political conformity. Hence,				development in the Republic of Korea, 1945- 1992.
the present proletariat class, the underclass, is left to				Retrieved on October 13, 2006 from
view the heavens for a haven. When the business				Lewis, Winston. A. 1954. Economic development with
class fails to provide that leadership for the society, the				unlimited supplies of labour. The Manchester school of
‘labourer’ class will gradually venture in				Economics and Social Studies, 22, 139-191.
deviant acts as a medium of grappling with political				___________. 1955. The theory of economic
mismanagement. ‘Too many people are				growth. London: Allen and Unwin.
comfortable with the present affairs (Bourne, 2005)				___________. 1964. Closing remarks in Baer and
and silence of the ‘underclass’ is becoming				Kerstenetzky (1964).
increasingly deafening. If the business class continues				___________. 1977. The evolution of the
with this dialectic silence, the poor may resort to				International Economic Order. Princeton, NJ: Princeton
revolution in an effort to understand and come to a				University Press.
rationale of their social space.				Macionis, John, J. and Plummer, Kenneth. 1998.
The old philosophical construct of poverty is primarily				Sociology. New York: Prentice Hall, New York
food consumption of the poorest quintile but this				Marglin, Frederizue A., and Marglin, Stephen A. (ed).
definition fails to recognize that poor people are social				1990. Dominating knowledge: Development, Culture, and
beings with children. One researcher (Henry-Lee)				Resistance. United States: Oxford University Press.
forwarded a slant that; the poor spend the largest				Mohammed, Patricia. 2000. City limits: Urbanization and
proportion of their earnings on food, which means that				gender roles in the Caribbean into the twenty-first
the business class must begin to offer a position				century. In K. Hall & D. Benn. (Eds)., Contending
against any erosion of their economic base. If there				with destiny: The Caribbean in the @!st century
are presently 424, 100 absolutely poor people any				(pp.196-203). Kingston: Ian Randle Publishers.
increase in food prices will see them living how?				Munck, R. (1999a). Deconstructing Development
According to Rapley (1996, p.7), "state interventions to				Discourses: of Impasses Alternatives and Politics. In R.
relieve poverty would inhibit initiative, and would stifle				Munck, and O'Hearn, D. (Ed.), Critical Development
investment because they would rely on increased				Theory. London: Zed Books.
taxes." Dr. Rapley’s cited perspective is a clear				Munroe, Trevor. 1993. An Introduction to Politics.
indication of the stance taken by all traditional				Lectures for First Year Students. Canoe Press,
economists. This stance sees development as solely				University of the West Indies, 1a Aqueduct Flats,
an economic growth phenomenon that is driven by the				Kingston 7, Jamaica, WI.
free market but many post World War II economists				Norbye, O. D. K. 1974. Health and Demography:
differ on a theorizing for this construct. Lewis				Adequate health services for poor countries: how can
concurred with classicalists like Smith and Keynes that				the rich countries contribute to reaching such a goal?
development is primarily economic. Rapley (1996, p.16)				World Development, 2, 13-17. Retrieved on March 10,
stated that, "Lewis argued that in a Third World				2006 from [
economy, the wage rate was set at a constant level				O’Donnell, M (1997). Introduction to sociology.
as determined by minimum levels of existence in				(Fourth Edition). Surrey KT12 5PL. Thomas, U.K.: Nelson
traditional family farming." This ensured a virtually				House.
unlimited supply of cheap labour, which has an				O’Donnell, Mike (1997). Introduction to Sociology.
advantageous factor in industrial development (Rapley,				4th Edition. Thomas Nelson and sons Ltd. Nelson
1996 p.16). As a social scientist who is concerned with				House, Mayfield Road, Walton-on-Thomas, Surrey
development and its determinants, the researcher is				KT12 5PL. U.K.
cognizant of the different discourse on the issue but				Oraganization of Eastern Caribbean States (OECS).
will analyze both schools of thought before coming to				(2002). Human development report. Trinidad and
a consensus.				Tobago. SCRIP-J Printers.
The Organization of Eastern Caribbean States (OECS,				Owens, Edgar. 1987. The future of freedom in the
2002) wrote, "while material poverty affect a large				developing world: Economic development as Political
number of households, the Report points to the				Reform. New York, USA.: Pergamon Press.
impending dangers of more widespread and subtle				Planning Institute of Jamaica (PIOJ) & Statistical
forms of poverty that include poor health, inadequate				Institute of Jamaica (STATIN). 1992-2004. Social and
levels of educational attainment; lack of economic				Economic Survey of Living Condition. Kingston: PIOJ
assets or access to markets or jobs that could create				& STATIN.
the unsafe physical environment; and various forms of				Ramirez, A., Ranis, G., and Stewart, F. 1997. Economic
social exclusion." This report forwards the core of the				growth and human development. Economic Growth
post-1950 scholars’ viewpoints on development				Centre, U.S.A.: Yale University. Retrieved on October
that is broader than the Classicalists theorizing that				12, 2006 from
was once the epistemological framework on				Ramos, Joseph and Sunkel, Osvaldo. 1993. Toward a
development thoughts. The article points to other				neostructuralist synthesis. In Sunkel, Osvaldo, (ed).
non-economic growth theorizing such as health care,				Development form within: Toward a neostructuralist
education and other psychosocial conditions. Hence,				approach for Latin America. United States: Lynne
the author will not seek to continue in the pre-1950s				Rienner.
epistemological mindset as it is a one sided theorizing				Randall, Vicky and Robin Theobald. 1998. Political
but will seek to quantify any validity of the				Change and Underdevelopment. A Critical Introduction
contemporary developmentalists’ perspective on				to Third World Politics. Second Edition. Macmillan Press
the issue as this include social, political and economic				Limited.
factors. This paper surrounds the social aspect to				Ranis, Gustav and Stewart, Frances. 2001.
development in the form of expenditure on health care				“Growth and human development: Comparative
and expenditure on education with the intention of				Latin American Experience.” The Developing
using those two (2) determinants of contemporary				Economies, XXXIX (4): 333-65. Retrieved on October
development in order to ascertain any causal and/or				12, 2006 from
associational relationship between expenditure on				Ranis, Gustav, Stewart, Francis and Ramirez,
social programmes and their influence on levels of				Alejandro. 2000. “Economic Growth and Human
development.				Development.”World Development, 28: 197-219.
Spikes (2002) posits: "poverty can be regarded as the				Rapley, John. 2002. ¬Understanding development:
inability to obtain the essentials of life; for others it is a				Theory and practice in the Third World. 2nd Edition.
matter of low income; for others a problem of social				United States: Lynne Rienner Publishers.
inequality". He goes on to say that "poverty can be				Rasheed, Sadiz. 1998. Development, Europe and
explained in terms of material conditions, that is basic				Africa: The search for a new partnership, Volume 41,
needs, food, clothing, and shelter; however limited				No.4, December 1998. Society for International
resource interfere with the ability to acquire the				Development.
essentials. Poverty can be seen as exclusion; the				Rodney, W. 1974. How Europe Underdeveloped Africa.
European Union defines the poor as persons whose				United States: Howard University Press.
resources (material culture and social) are so limited as				Rist, G. 2002. The History of Development: From
to exclude them from the minimum acceptable way of				Western Origins to Global Faith. London: Zed Books.
life in the member state in which they live depending				Rostow, Walter. W. 1963. The Economics of take-off
on benefits as equivalents as claiming social				into sustained growth: proceedings of a conference
assistance".				held by the International Economic Association.
It is frightening to say the least that despite efforts				Macmillan: London.
within the technological age people are living in abject				Rostow, Walter. W. 1960. The Stages of Economic
poverty that retards the process in which many of				Growth: a Non-Communist Manifesto. United Kingdom:
these issues should have been addressed. Haralambus				Cambridge University Press.
(1995)"poverty implies an undesirable social problem				Seaga, Edward P. G. 1996. Advancing to the 21st
that a solution should be found. Basic amenities, for				Century with a Dynamic Agenda. Kingston: Jamaica
examples, shelter health and nutrition: the latter				Institute for Political Education.
according to Drewnowski and Scott in Haralambus "is				Sen, Amartya K. 1999. Development as Freedom. New
measured by factors in relation to the amount of				York: Anchor Books.
calories and protein consumed by the individual. Shelter				Stewart, J. 1989. Book reviews. Racial conflict and
is measured by the quality of living arrangements				economic development. The review of Black political
(dwelling etc.) and health is measured by factors such				economy. Atlanta: National Economic Association and
as infant mortality and the quality of medical				the Southern Center for Studies in Public Policy of
treatments available.				Clark College.
When individuals are malnourished, the health of these				Streeten, Paul. 1979. “Development Ideas in
individuals would affect them in terms of their physical				Historical Perspective,” in Rothko Chapel
and mental states. A medical practitioner, Dalzell-Ward				Colloquium (ed.), Toward a New Strategy for
(1974: 23), commented that "The deprivation of energy				Development. New York: Pergamon Press, pp.21-52.
foods’ will result in excessive fatigue which will in				Sunkel, Osvaldo, (ed). 1993. Development form within:
turn diminish social and work performances and				Toward a neostructuralist approach for Latin America.
interfere with well-being." There is however, the				United States: Lynne Rienner.
indication of a level of development, where as if an				Todaro, Michael. 2000. Economic Development.
individual is not in the best of health, this will contribute				Seventh Edition. Addison-Wesley Longman, Inc. New
to fewer hours worked and reduced production. The				York.
economist Adam Smith states that this would be an				United Nations Development Programme. Human
indication of reduced economic growth. Professor				Development Reports (various). New York: Oxford
Todaro (Todaro, 2000) from his perspective, that				University Press.
development envelope social, political and economic				United Nations Development Programme (UNDP).
changes in peoples lives. Another medical practitioner				(1998). Human Development Report - Consumption for
concurred with Dalzell–Ward (1974) when she				Human Development. New York: Oxford University
said:				Press.
In fact many of today’s problems with students				UNDP. 1999. Human Development Report -
are actually health related. Kids are not able to learn				Globalization with a Human Face. New York: Oxford
sufficiently if they are hungry, tired, hung-over from				University Press.
alcohol, or worried about violence. We need to				UNDP. 2000a. Choices. New York: UNDP.
eliminate barriers that affect students’ readiness				UNDP. 2000b. Human Development Report - Human
to learn. A variety of physical and mental conditions				rights and human development. New York: Oxford
impact students’ attendance and their ability to				University Press.
pay attention in class anger, and restrain from				UNDP. 2000c. Challenges to developing countries.
self-destructive impulses.				Retrieved October 12, 2005, from [
Eurocentric beliefs have so conquered the				UNDP. 2001a. Human Development Report - Making
epistemology of world ideology that it becomes difficult				new technologies work for human development. New
even for the ‘honest’ advocate to be				York: Oxford University Press.
effective. Individualism-profiteerism drives the engine of				UNDP. 2001b. Choices. New York: UNDP.
social existence that humans only protect themselves,				UNDP. 2001c. Creating a Development Dynamic Final
even if it appears that another is being helped in the				Report of the Digital Opportunity Initiative July 2001.
process. Christianity is a by-product of the Eurocentric				New York: UNDP.
system and so helps to explain its true tenet. Europe in				UNDP. 2001d. Project Sustainable Dryland Agriculture
an effort to corner all epistemologies of the ontology				by Mahila Sanghams: Andhra Pradesh. Retrieved
of man’s existence and creation offered				March 4, 2005 from [
spiritualism. Christianity operates as though it has the				UNDP. 2002a. Human Development Report -
sole authority to the ontology of creation. Despite its				Deepening democracy in a fragmented world. New
stance, the ideological phenomenology of Christianity				York: Oxford University Press.
subsumes individualism. Unlike the other traditional				UNDP. 2002b. Support to the Jamaica Sustainable
epistemological construct of man, humanitarianism is a				Network. Kingston: UNDP Jamaica Country Office.
tenet of their doctrine but they are not the iconic				UNDP. 2002c. Choices. New York: UNDP.
thought because they were fashioned prior to				UNDP. 2004. Human Development Report - Cultural
Europe’s delineation of world ideology. The social				Liberty in Today’s Diverse World. New York:
reality is such that we cannot afford to mute a				Oxford University Press.
position, the people are being				UNDP. 2005. What Is Human Development. Retrieved
‘Saddomized’ by the political structure, and				October 21, 2005, from [
it is in the hegemony’s best interest to ensure				Waller, Lloyd G. “ICTs for Whose Development?
that the poor and less fortunate are protected as they				A critical analysis of the discourses surrounding an ICT
have nothing to lose in the event of a revolution.				for Development Initiative for a group of
References				microenterprise entrepreneurs operating in the
Allen, R.G.D. 1967. Macro-Economic theory: A				Jamaican tourism industry: Towards the development
mathematical treatment. New York, United States: St.				of methodologies and analytical tools for understanding
Martin’s Press.				and explaining the ICT for Development
Baguant, J., Prinz, C., Toth, F.L., and Wils, A.B. 1994.				Phenomenon.” PhD dissertation, University of
Population-Development-Environment: Understanding				Waikota, 2006.

SA Register

The Sociologic Of Political Silence: Explaining A Discourse In Jamaica's Society