Herbert Spencer (1820-1903) is regarded as one of the most influential minds in the field of Sociology. Having coined the phrase “survival of the fittest”, he was also the first to explore “Evolution” which later lead to the concept of “Social Darwinism”. It can be argued that there are aspects which indicates Spencer’s theory is not fully or relatively relatable to the Caribbean and the institutions which exists, the supporting evidence behind this notion can be drawn to the power relations, race and gender. This paper reviews Spencer’s theory as it applies to the Caribbean society and the reasons as to why Spencer’s theory fail to consider the relations between the institutions and the elements which exist within the Caribbean society as
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Spencer rightly stated that society evolves from simple to complex however, it is arguable that Spencer failed to conceptualize the extent of which the complexity of the society would extend to, especially with regards to the Caribbean’s growth and development over past decades with the influence the Western societies and globalization have had on the Caribbean region. Taking into account history records from the time Columbus’ arrival in 1498 the Caribbean have evolved into the most diverse region in the world. According to Spencer ‘nature determines everything’, however it is clearly seen that the evolution and growth within the Caribbean was not due to ‘nature’ but rather from the influences of the Western societies by means of Colonialism, Globalization, Industrialization by Invitation. For instance, it was the dominance of the Western societies which resulted to the production of sugar in the Caribbean and migration to occur during Colonialization thus Spencer’s theory of natural evolution have no influence but rather it was the intervention of the political institution which resulted in beginning of evolution controlled by the power relations within a society. This simply means it is the political institution that determines the economic growth of the society, for example in Trinidad the political party which holds the power over the economy proposed a budget which can either promote progress or hinder
Spencer rightly stated that society evolves from simple to complex however, it is arguable that Spencer failed to conceptualize the extent of which the complexity of the society would extend to, especially with regards to the Caribbean’s growth and development over past decades with the influence the Western societies and globalization have had on the Caribbean region. Taking into account history records from the time Columbus’ arrival in 1498 the Caribbean have evolved into the most diverse region in the world. According to Spencer ‘nature determines everything’, however it is clearly seen that the evolution and growth within the Caribbean was not due to ‘nature’ but rather from the influences of the Western societies by means of Colonialism, Globalization, Industrialization by Invitation. For instance, it was the dominance of the Western societies which resulted to the production of sugar in the Caribbean and migration to occur during Colonialization thus Spencer’s theory of natural evolution have no influence but rather it was the intervention of the political institution which resulted in beginning of evolution controlled by the power relations within a society. This simply means it is the political institution that determines the economic growth of the society, for example in Trinidad the political party which holds the power over the economy proposed a budget which can either promote progress or hinder