CULTURAL DIVERSITY

POSITIVE AND NEGATIVE EFFECTS OF CULTURAL

DIVERSITY
• Cultural diversity – is the way of life that comprises habits and practices derived from
more than one race or group of people. Caribbean cultural diversity results from the
variety of ethnic groups found in the region.
• Positive effects of cultural diversity
1. Members enjoy a variety of foods, festivals, music and celebrations, as well as fashions,
handcrafts and other cultural expressions such as dance.
2. One can learn to appreciate other cultures and an array of perspectives by just
growing up in society. For example, by having friends in other groups and being invited
to various celebrations.
3. This diversity in music, dance, language and folklore have helped to draw people to the
region and develop our tourism industry.
4. Day-to-day living in such societies provides instances enabling one to reflect on the
values and customs of others. For example, the furore created with a Rastafarian in
Trinidad, student because of his dreadlocks.
• Negative effects of cultural diversity
1. Ethnic prejudices are perpetuated through socialisation within the family, which is
reinforced in interaction friends and acquaintances.
2. Ethnic hate may arise out of feelings of ethnic superiority, compounded by the
perception that another group is getting more of national pie one’s own group.
3. Ethnic politics develops, with political parties becoming polarised according to race. The
ethnic lines harden and jobs, promotions, opportunities and gifts are limited to people of
the same ethnicity of the ruling party.
4. Continued feelings of discrimination, the sense of being exploited and fears of ones
lifestyle and means of earning a living may be in jeopardy, lead to social unrest –
spontaneous demonstrations and riots.
ETHNIC AND CULTURAL DIFFERENCES

• Caribbean society has always described as a plural society. As the name suggests, it
refers to the fact that two or more ethnic groups share the same territory. There are
important differences, peculiarities, and distinctions evident in the way of life of the
different groups of people. Caribbean culture is as diverse as the different ethnic and
racial groups that make it up. The Amerindians of Belize, Guyana and Dominica remain
an important group within their own territories. Over the years, they have maintained
their own culture within the reserves that they occupy in their respective territories.
CLOSED AND OPEN STRATIFICATION SYSTEM

• Stratification systems are divided into two main types: closed and open.
• Characteristics of a closed system of stratification
1. It is a rigid system with clearly demarcated boundaries
2. Social status is strictly defined and determines access to opportunities.
3. Social position is detetmined at birth (ascribed)
4. Social mobility from one level to another is not possible.
 • Characteristics of an open system of stratification
1. They are based mainly on economic criteria, particularly income.
2. Social position is achieved through one’s own efforts.
3. The boundaries between classes are more flexible than with a closed system.
4. Social mobility is possible, as individuals can move up or down the social ladder,
therefore their status can improve or decline.
5. The class system in modern industrial society is an open system of stratification.
SOCIAL STRATIFICATION

• This is a term used to describe the ordering or ranking of social groups according to
agreed standards. Social stratification refers to the different social groups that make up a
particular society. This ranking or positioning of each of these groups in relation to each
other in society is based on certain prescribed factors such as religion, race, colour, and
wealth. These are used to reflect levels of ‘inferiority’ and ‘superiority’ in society.
Religion plays an integral role in perceived rank or status. Those who belong to
indigenous religions are perceived to be of a certain (lower) status. For example,
Pocomania in Jamaica, there are certain stumbling blocks attached with regard to upward
social mobility.
PLANTATION SOCIETY AND ITS IMPACT ON
CARIBBEAN SOCIAL STRATIFICATION
• Race – a race is a human population that is believed to be distinct in some way from
other human beings based on real or imagined physical differences. These differences
mainly involve biological features such as skin colour and facial characteristics. It has
brought people of different race to the region.
• Ethnicity – an ethnic group is a human population that shares certain social traits. For
example, Rastafarians with their religious beliefs and way of life, constitute an ethnic
group. Some social traits used for ethnic classification: nationality, tribe, religion, language
and culture.
• Colour – not only is the Caribbean a racial melting pot, but there is a plethora of colour
as a result of mixing and sexual relations between the races. Between black and white
there is a whole range of colour. The offspring of the union between a black person and
a white person was called a mulatto. Some of these prejudices still shape the cultural
values of Caribbean people today.
• Money – money has been and will always be a major determining factor in one’s rank in
society. People are almost always judged to some degree by their wealth. During slavery,
it was the white population who had the monopoly on land and wealth. These sugar,
coffee and cocoa planters, collectively known as the plantocracy, were at the apex of the
social pyramid.
EDUCATION AS A BASIS FOR NEW CLASS
FORMATION AND UPWARD MOBILITY
In Caribbean societies, both social stratification and social mobility are determined
particularly by education. After independence, in the 1960s, a number of Caribbean
governments began to address the issue of public education. It was in their best interest to
provide an education system that could produce a cadre of professionals to facilitate the
development of the economy and society. Education meant that by his or her own merit, a
poor person could move from the class they are born in to the upper echelons of society.
For example, in Barbados education is free up to the university level. The UWI, started to
play a greater role in Caribbean identity and culture. It provided leaders who would
promote certain aspects of our Caribbean culture. Among them were Sir Grantly Adams
of Bardados, Norman Manley of Jamaica.
SOCIAL MOBILITY

• This is the movement of individuals or groups from one social class to another, either up
or down, within the social stratification system of society. The degree of social mobility
that exists in a society depends on weather that individual or group is in a closed or
open stratification system. Social mobility is also used to refer to the opportunities
available to move from one social position to another or from one class to another, or it
depends on what one has achieved in the way of wealth, status or prestige. Social
mobility, is therefore, equated with success. This is called meritocracy. Naturally,
people in the lower class want to improve their standard of living. They want to move
into the middle class, while those in the middle class seek to move into the upper class.
 DEFINITION OF
CONCEPTS

• Plantocracy (upper class) – this group usually inherit wealth and power such as political
power. They are at the apex of the social pyramid.
• Intelligentsia – the educated members of the society. This is the group that the professional
middle class belongs to.
• Middle class – the social group between the upper and working class, including professionl
and business people and their families.
• The bougeoisie – Sometimes loosely styled as capitalists. They are the owners of the means
of production. They are members of the wealthy middle class.
• Working class – comprises those uneducated or unskilled and untrained members of society
who are usually employed, even if only seasonally.
• Underclass – it is that group unemployable individuals, those who live in extreme poverty and
or exhibit deviant behaviours such as juvenile delinquency. They are involved in criminal acts and
gangs.
• Caste – the caste system used in India is an example of a closed stratification system and is tied
to religious beliefs. It ranks persons in groups such as priests, artisan, untouchable. The rigidity
of the system means that people are born into a particular caste and are forced to remain in
that caste until they die. In such a society a person’s caste cannot be changed by personal
achievement.