Blackening the Jamaican nation: The travails of a black bourgeoisie in a globalized world

Abstract

This paper discusses the recent attempt of a black professional stratum in Jamaica to transform itself into a bourgeoisie. It outlines the situation in the Afro‐Caribbean, which is characterized by a black elite controlling political power but a white or brown minority controlling the economy. It shows how the attempt of a rising black elite to obtain economic power was accompanied by a cautious narrative of black nationalism. This attempt is placed within the present context of globalization and privatization, which has led the state to seek to achieve its objectives through the market. The process is also located within the global hierarchy of races, ethnicities, and cultures, which places Anglo‐American culture at the apex and Sub‐Saharan African culture at the base. The paper uses the Jamaican case to argue that the empowerment of a black bourgeoisie is extremely problematic in such a global context, although not impossible.