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Social transformation and participatory planning in St Lucia
Author(s) -
Pugh Jonathan
Publication year - 2005
Publication title -
area
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.958
H-Index - 82
eISSN - 1475-4762
pISSN - 0004-0894
DOI - 10.1111/j.1475-4762.2005.00654.x
Subject(s) - peasant , elite , citizen journalism , sociology , social transformation , social class , population , independence (probability theory) , sustainable development , economic growth , social change , politics , political science , economics , demography , mathematics , law , statistics
In this paper I seek to highlight some differences between elite systems of participatory planning, on the one hand, and class‐driven social transformation in St Lucia, on the other. In doing so, I refer to two periods in time in St Lucia's history. The first is between 1840 and 1957, when the agricultural system of metayage dominated. This example will be used to illustrate a period of time when social transformation was driven by the peasant classes, acting against the power of the plantocracy, giving the peasant class greater control over the means of agricultural production and land. The second period of time I focus upon is the post‐independence period, after 1979, when participatory planning techniques are used by a narrow group of environmentalist elites in order to attempt to implement their vision for sustainable development. The difference illustrates the substantial material and social aspirations within the population, on the one hand, and the narrow concerns of a group of elites on the other.