By Jeremy Morin
After watching the video over tourism in
Papua New Guinea, I thought about whether or not there are social classes for
those people who might make a little more money based on sales of products,
sale of photos, and off the sales of tourism in general. Now according to two sources, there are
classes. One is referred to as the
“grassroots” but is more commonly referred to as the poor, and there are also
the middle class. According to an
article from the University of Hawai’i -Maona, “Papua New Guinea’s middle class
in the last 20 years has evolved to adapt consumption habits that are
increasingly becoming comparable to western middle class consumption habits.”
(Milli). In Milli’s article she talks
about not only the rise of the middle class, but also gender related issues
within New Guinean society.
Also, in her article Milli references
another author, Leela Fernandes, about how a middle class in newly developing
countries as “a group that represents the promise of a new national model of
development” (Milli). Milli links the
rise of a “new” middle-class to the acquisition of independence in 1975. She also notes the factor of Papua New Guinea
being a mining country, and has increased its mining sector. Milli states that
there are two major factors in the major increase in the mining industry; the
first she says is the opening of the mines.
The opening of new mines added jobs, especially for those who are
extremely skilled in a specific labor area.
The second she says is the boom in retail, real estate, school, health,
etc. All of these industries have grown
due to the increase of mines and other forms of mining.
Milli also talks about how other
members of the middle class have occupations such as being lawyers, doctors,
and even pilots. All of which are allowed
to enjoy the “luxuries” of being a middle-class citizen. By they are allowed to
enjoy luxuries I mean they earn enough money from their middle-class jobs to be
able to afford nice houses, cars, as well as to send their children to
school. They may not be poor, but they
also are not the richest in the country, and there are very few extremely rich
native people. A large portion of the
rich, or upper class, are non-native peoples.
So, in conclusion there is an upper,
middle, and lower class within the Papua New Guinean society. Even thought the country has not had a system
of currency as long as other countries, but in the small amount of time they
have established a class system. The
answer to my question is yes, there is a social class system among the people
of Papua New Guinea.
Works
Cited
Gewertz,
Deborah B., and Frederick K. Errington. Emerging Class in Papua New Guinea: The
Telling of Difference.
Cambridge UP, 1999.
Milli,
Geejay P. "The Emerging Middle Class in Papua New Guinea; The heightened
awareness of gender issues and
political participation by middle class women in the 21st century." U of
Hawai'i
Manoa, MA thesis.
23 comments:
I enjoyed the student post very much. It was intriguing to learn that even a culture with little economic status can still classify their selves into different economic classes. We tend to see the worse in things that don't have as much as us but these people used what they had to make life better for them. I commend them for that and how far they have came.
I can relate to the class situation in Papua New Guinea as I was born and raised in Jamaica which is also a 3rd world country. In Jamaica racism is not much of an issue as more than 90 percent of the population is of African origin. However, the main issue faced by people in the country is classism. Jamaica class system is similar to that of Papua New Guinea as the people in the middle class are able to buy nice houses and cars while the lower class cannot. The upper class that makes up 0.5 percent of the total population consist with people of European and Asian descent.- Owen Smith
I think this culture sort of relates back to our culture in regards to having classes. We have a upper class, middle class, lower class, and the poor. Unless you are placed in the top two classes, people tend to look at you as being poor even though you aren't necessarily. This culture just has their own names for it.
-apreshana page
Great question, I found this essay very interesting. Today some countries might be rich or poor but they still have different social classes.
-Aide Gonzalez
I understand where this student might be coming from as regarding being a middle class citizen . I really liked this essay because it seem interesting to me . But being a middle class citizen other people may think that you are poor . We often get judged off of how we live or act .There are a upper, middle, and lower classes. Having to deal with being rich or poor other places still have different social class.
- Jazmine Haines
I really enjoyed the student post it was informative and also liked how she explained her interest in learning that even a culture with little economic status can still classify their selves into different economic classes. this happens to us on a daily basis in america where We tend to classify our selves in different social classes.
I find this reading to be very intriguing. Social classes play a big role in everyday life. You are immediately judged because of the social class you belong to. Social classes identify who you are before you even have the chance to. Being rich makes you know better
than the poor.
-Braxten Goodwin
This is a great question to research. In almost all economies I feel that there will always be social classes,and that to get you and your family out of a lower or middle class can be difficult. Social classes date back hundreds of years.
-Logan Shea
I enjoyed your essay Jeremy and I believe that no matter what part of the world you live in there will always be social classes. Now I feel like social classes are getting to be very different statistically what middle class and lower class is now, but in general it has came a long way since the beginning of social class.
This was a great essay and I really enjoy it. Although in many countries most are rich and others are poor but at the end every last one of them are different with social classes.
Your essay is very interesting Jeremy. I believe there Are social classes in every part of the world. Some may not be as prestigious as others but they do find themselves being classified in different social classes.
It’s crazy how in Papua New Guinea if you are a doctor or lawyer you are considered middle class but here in America and in other countries those careers are considered for the rich. Now, that I think about it everyone has a class system. Like here in the United States if you make less then 60 thousand a year you are considered poor, but with that being said there are two types of poverty there’s poor and working poor. Working poor are people that work but still can not afford certain luxaries this is 20% of the population. Two other classes are working class (blue collar) is 30% of population and middle class (white collar) 34% of population. Next is new money (newly rich) which holds 15% of population and upper class (old money) which is 1%of the population.
Unlike Papua New Guinea we have multiple classes they do not it’s divided into 3 categories lower, middle, and upper, which none of the natives are in the upper class. The highest level in there culture one could get is middle class. That’s very interesting to me.
—Monya’ Smith
I think that it's really cool how the people of Papua New Guinea, have already formed their own society and class system in just a short amount a time. It's always interesting to see the difference of culture and priority between one and another. Here in America, doctors, lawyers, pilots, are seen as some of the best jobs in the country, whereas in Papua New Guinea, they are classified as middle class citizens.
Social Class plays a big part in life, lower and middle class people have less resources than other upper class people. Since some people are in the lower and middle class its a little harder for them to make it out of these urban areas. People are so judgmental if you don't make certain amount of money that person makes.
-Roy
I found it interesting how the Papua New Guinea formed their own society and social class system in so little time. Social class plays a big role in our society today.
-Micah Seals
Great essay but i really do believe there are many different social groups we put our self in. Rich and Poor, skin color, education level, and much more. I say its weird to group our self with only people that is like us in one way instead of spreading out an seeing what all is out there. To hear about how we see lawyers and doctors as pretty "high" "rich" people to in New Guinea see them as middle class people. Different exception of "work and pay" we have.
Akwila Cooks
This was an interesting part of their essay, and how they divide into the three social class. Social classes play a big role in our society because it determines a lot of different things it can either help you or not. Because most people look at lower class/middle class people as poor. Some people think that they fit in the middle class and they really don't.
I enjoyed reading this student Blog post very much. It was interesting to learn that even a culture with little economic status can still classify their selves into different economic classes. When living in a culture with little economic status they learn to make the best out of it and i believe it shows that no matter how much money you have from your upbringing, you can still make the most of it.
I actually found this essay really interesting. It's really interesting to see how different countries run and how they label their social class. I see alot of people saying it's weird to see people who are doctors and lawyers consider middle class but i think it's just based upon the pay and importance. They might get paid as much or consider as more important in PNG. - Kiera McNulty
This blog was very interesting! I have never actually stopped and taken the time to think about how other countries classify their social classes. I feel that having social classes is important. No it does not serve as a huge importance, but it does allow people to receive benefits. I do not allows agree with the scales they use. Great post!!
Kahla Perry
My name is Tonii Saffore. I enjoyed reading this post and I love that you choose to take the time to inform us on the class ranks of these individuals. I actually did not think that they would have a lower, middle, or upper class just because I know that most of everyone were struggling to make money. this post taught me a lot of new things, great job on researching this!
Jeremy did a great job on this article. It basically shines light on how the Papua New Guinea group has different social classes within. No matter if you are rich or poor you are still put into a different social class than the next.
-Jasmine Busby
The development of a new middle class highlights the challenges of growth and opportunity in the years following independence in New Guinea.- Brooklyn Blair
Post a Comment