Political Culture and It's Changes Within the Caribbean

Political Culture and its changes within the Caribbean

Political culture: refers to the collection of political beliefs values, practices, and institutions that the government is based on. Political culture may be analyzed in terms of social capital. Social capital: the amount of reciprocity and trust between citizens and between the state. More social capital usually means democratic. The number and depth of disagreements among citizens within a society forms the basis for dividing political culture into two types: consensual and conflictual. • Consensual political culture: citizens tend to agree on how decisions are made, what issues need fixing, and how problems should be solved (for example, citizens think elections are good and accept their outcomes). In short, consensual political culture accepts both the legitimacy of the regime and solutions to major problems. • Conflictual political culture: citizens are sharply divided. Examples include communism vs. capitalism or extremely prominent religious differences.
Changes of Political Culture in the Caribbean
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It is imperative that people have an appreciation of the history of political culture in Jamaica. Many of these problems are political matters in that different people, and different political parties, have different views about their solution. Today in most West Indian territories, people are being asked to support one view or another when they have attained the age of 18 years and are able to vote in elections. There is clear political implication when making a choice between one view and another. The knowledge of Caribbean geography is of considerable value when analyzing the political culture of the Caribbean, Political history has help with problems facing the island. If you are considering a problem facing the territory in which you live, you will need to know (a) how the problem originated, (b) what resources your territory possesses that can be used to tackle the problem, (c) how other territories have tackled the problem, and with what success, and (d) what resources the other territories possess. And in thinking about other territories it is not sufficient to consider only those in the Commonwealth Caribbean. For example, when considering the future development of your territory it is important for you to bear in mind the Cuban attempt to reduce the gap between the rich and the poor, and the Puerto Rican method of raising per capita income by means of industrialization. Both have their advantages and their drawbacks, and both have their supporters and their opponents. Jamaica’s political history has been riddled with violence since as early as 1938 with there being no clear indication, of who is the people’s choice. Until recently the people of the Commonwealth Caribbean had little opportunity to take part in the decisions that shaped their lives. They were ruled by Britain, and much of their trade was tied to Britain. This is no longer the case. In the l950s the movement towards political independence began, and in the 1960s practically all the important political decisions were made in the West Indies themselves. Now, with Britain’s entry into the European Common Market, the West Indies have to establish new patterns of trade. Outside the region links are being forged with Japan, with Communist China, and with European nations which have never before been trading partners. Within the region the emphasis on economic cooperation has led, as we have seen, to the establishment first of CARIFTA and then of the Caribbean Common Market. Changes are taking place more rapidly than ever before, and you will find your geographical studies of great assistance in following them and understanding them through seeing what is the importance of political division of Jamaica.