Question

Discuss why the “marketplace” by J. S. Furnivall’s is relevant to our Caribbean reality and discuss what this means relations among members of society.

Answer 1

Note: This response is in UK English, please paste the response to MS Word and you should be able to spot discrepancies easily. You may elaborate the answer based on personal views or your classwork if necessary.

(Answer) Furnivall noticed that Burma had a multicultural society. This particular area had Chinese, Indians and natives living together in a pluralistic society. These individuals formed a mixture but did not seem to entirely mix about. These cultures still retained their own ideas, religious beliefs and other aspects. They also formed their own little communities in Burma. The only time that they truly came together was in the marketplace. This was the only environment where one’s indigenous identity was irrelevant and the buying and selling of goods were actually of a priority.

This scenario is similar to the “Caribbean Reality” and is therefore relevant even today. “Pluralism” was the term that J.S. Furnivall coined for a situation like Burma. When several cultures co-exist peacefully yet they do not absorb into each other in order to form a united ideology or a common people is known as pluralism. In the Caribbean, religion, education property and even the economy is segmented based on the different cultures and classes present in the society. Although they do co-exist, they seldom connect with each other anywhere else other than in the marketplace.