Causes of social change and conflict, and the emergence of a national conciousness in Grenada

Sociologically speaking there is a hierarchy of norms and values established within a society's central value system that dictates the ordering of society, and in all cases the elite, occupying the center of society, maintained a rigid social structure, thereby excluding others from its rank. Social change and conflict results when this order is disrupted. Using this model and argument, this dissertation is a historical-comparative and interpretative analysis of two case studies in Grenada: the T. A. Marryshow period (1920 to 1950) and the Gairy period (1950 to 1974). These case studies enquire into the causes of social change and conflict, and the development of a national consciousness. Central to this study is the interrelationship between culture and social structure, between which reciprocal causation is posited. The interrelationship is seen as essentially a struggle over values and norms that establish social order. The dissertation identifies the social structure within four distinctive social classes established as ideal types: elite, upper middle class, lower middle class, and working class. The upper middle class viewed its position in society as similar to that of the elite but was not accepted as such by them, contests its exclusion. This status inconsistency among the upper middle class generates Ressentiment that is the basis of conflict. The dissertation argues that despite Ressentiment being the source of conflict it is not sufficient to effect change. The disadvantaged social group develops political movements and chooses ideas foreign to the social order or society that were capable of advancing its goals. This political movement (the Grenada United Labor Party) improved the dignity, respect and social mobility of the working class, thereby affecting changes in the central value system while the urban elite political power waned. I argue that where there is an absence of a national consciousness, social change and conflict in society are more likely to be determined by class and status as happened in Grenadian society during the two periods between 1920 and 1974. However, the dissertation argues that declining elite political power led to an identity crisis and the creation of anomie in society. This situation of social upheaval resulted in urban elite identity crisis that in turn led to the emergence of a national consciousness around the 1960's.