Functionalism In The Caribbean Society

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Functionalism is inappropriate for the analysis of Caribbean society. Discuss. The Caribbean is prominent for its natural beauty of tropical rainforests, pristine beaches and hospitable inhabitants. Caribbean society can be described as a large group of people living in a region whose islands are enclosed by the Caribbean Sea. Though there exists some level of harmony in these islands, the theory of functionalism does not take into consideration the Caribbean’s unique and eventful history, which still affects Caribbean society today. Functionalism is a sociological theory or set of ideas, which seek to explain how society operates by the way in which social institutions may be interdependent and how its uses, impact upon the beliefs…show more content…
The plantation system was then developed, whereby natives of the Caribbean and eventually various groups of people were forced to work on these plantations as slaves. The Europeans controlled and owned the resources of society and the factors of production as well as wealth and political power. The subject class became alienated and rarely challenged slave owners, in the fear of physical abuse or death. As a result the Europeans were perceived as superior to African slaves and Indian and Chinese indentured laborers. According to George Beckford a Jamaican sociologist Caribbean society is still sculpted along the lines of the plantation long after its emancipation. He believed that the root cause of underdevelopment in the Caribbean is the colonization of the mind. As a result of the plantation society most Caribbean countries have inherited certain patterns in their economies, which hinder their growth. Today, foreign culture is still considered better than local culture. Foreign products are perceived to be of higher value than those that have been locally manufactured, and the Caribbean is highly dependent on European investment and technology to aid its development. Imperialism is the highest stage of capitalism, where Western economic dominance exists and Caribbean societies are exploited by the intense importation of European products and culture.…show more content…
The word creole refers to the product or culture created from the process of hybridization. This mixing may occur in a cultural aspect such as the acceptance and adaptation of each other’s food, dress or language. The creole language for example was developed in the Caribbean’s early history when natives, slaves and indentures attempted to communicate with European colonizers. Creole is a form of dialect but is still considered informal or incorrect, whereas much value is placed on Standard English. Another form of creole may be miscegenation, which is the mixing of different racial groups that is marrying, cohabiting and having children with a partner outside of one’s race or ethnically defined group. The concept of pigmentocracy emerged from this type of mixing, where one’s biology and skin complexion may determine their life chances. In the Caribbean persons of lighter complexion may be considered superior to dark or brown skin individuals just as it were in the days of slavery with domestic slaves, field slaves and free slaves who were all categorized based on their complexion and the ‘whites’ were superior to everyone else. This concept occurs today where in the Caribbean persons of fairer complexion have more power and prestige in society than others. This is evident in organizations such as banking institutions and airline industries in the Caribbean. Functionalism does not regard this type of inequality in its bases
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