What is a plural society in the Caribbean?

Rather than being what used to be called a “melting pot,” the Caribbean island nation of Trinidad and Tobago constitutes a “plural society,” that is, a place where two distinct ethnic groups live largely separate lives. Most of its supporters are Afro-Trinidadian, the descendants of people who were brought as slaves.

What does it mean to live in a plural society?

A pluralistic society is a diverse one, where the people in it believe all kinds of different things and tolerate each other’s beliefs even when they don’t match their own. A pluralistic society accepts many different sorts of people, from different races, sexual orientations, cultures, and religions.

What is an example of a plural society?

noun. A society composed of different ethnic groups or cultural traditions, or in the political structure of which ethnic or cultural differences are reflected. ‘For example, whereas the Netherlands has been a distinctly plural society for decades, Sweden has a much more homogeneous cultural make-up.

What makes a society plural?

noun. so·​ci·​e·​ty | \ sə-ˈsī-ə-tē \ plural societies.

What is plural society theory?

A plural society is defined by Fredrik Barth as a society combining ethnic contrasts: the economic interdependence of those groups, and their ecological specialization (i.e., use of different environmental resources by each ethnic group).

How does MG Smith’s concept differ from that of Furnivall?

The groups have remained distinct and have their own institutions. Whereas Furnivall sees the different ethnic groups as bound together by the economic fact of the marketplace, Smith sees them as bound together by a political institution, the colonial state.

What is plural society in sociology?

Plural society is simple words mean the integration of different communities who practice different culture, languages, and beliefs. For example, in any school, it is not mandatory to collect students from the same language or culture.

What is pluralism in your own words?

1 : the holding of two or more offices or positions (such as benefices) at the same time. 2 : the quality or state of being plural. 3a : a theory that there are more than one or more than two kinds of ultimate reality. b : a theory that reality is composed of a plurality of entities.

What is an example pluralism?

Pluralism is defined as a society where multiple people, groups or entities share political power. An example of pluralism is a society where people with different cultural backgrounds keep their own tradition. An example of pluralism is where labor unions and employers share in meeting the needs of employees.

What is a diverse and plural society?

Pluralism: a state of society in which members of diverse ethnic, racial, religious, or social groups maintain an autonomous participation in and development of their traditional culture or special interest, within the confines of a common civilisation.

What is a plural country?

The plural form of country is countries.

What did m.g.smith mean by plural society?

Smith contended that such plural societies represented “a separate form of society’’ (1960:763) for which a special body of theory had to be developed for comparative purposes: “without it a rigorous analysis of plural societies is extremely difficult, if not impossible” (1960:763).

Is there such a thing as a plural society?

28.  Multiracial societies, plural societies, or any other kind of society requires a unique body of sociological theory. They argue that social stratification applies to all societies (or at least to all complex societies) and is equally relevant with the admittedly complex reality of pluralism.

Is the United States a homogeneous or plural society?

The United States has developed as neither homogeneous nor plural but heterogeneous. Smith has to deal with the question of social class. This is easy enough for he has only to say that each group has its own internal class structure. He does, however, have to compare his own theory to that of Marx.

What did M G Smith mean by institutions?

Within a given polity culturally distinct groups may and often do coexist, each of which is characterized by its own particular institutional system. Drawing on Malinowski, Smith defined institutions as composed of standardized social groupings, modes of co-activity,