Dr. Lawrence Powell and Mr. Balford Lewis

HABITS OF THE HEART

The culture of every nation is unique. A people’s unique history and values, their ‘habits of the heart,’ provide the context within which politics and social life unfold. What we believe in and do not believe in as a society, what we consider just and unjust, moral and immoral, fair and unfair--defines what is possible for us. It defines which government policies we will find acceptable, and which ones we rebel against. It defines which politicians and parties we prefer, and do not prefer. As Carl Stone had pointed out, in order for Jamaicans to build a strong, stable democracy it is very important for the nation’s social scientists to understand these shared “norms and values which determine, underpin and help to shape the character and essence of the economic and social structures.”

Dr. Lawrence and Mr. Lewis having discussions.
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The importance of these political ‘habits of the heart’ in maintaining a healthy democracy has often been overlooked by public and private sector policymakers. Understandably, they become preoccupied with shorter-term legal and financial aspects of governance. However in the longer term a healthy democracy, if it is to thrive over time, must be rooted in a widespread consensus on democratic values, which is shared across all major segments of the society. This shared consensus is often referred to in political science literatures as the ‘political culture’ of a nation--the set of democratic values, nurtured through a process of ‘political socialization,’ by which individuals learn their political beliefs, behaviours, values and preferences, and by which these are passed from one generation to the next--through the family, educational and religious organizations, and the mass media.

MEASURING DEMOCRATIC VALUES

To what extent, then, do Jamaicans endorse the key values that underpin a well-functioning ‘democratic culture’, and which political scientists agree are necessary to sustain its health over time? Using a carefully-constructed national survey, researchers Lawrence Powell and Balford Lewis asked Jamaicans a variety of questions designed to gauge the strength of their democratic norms, as well as their preferences for democratic versus authoritarian rule. Findings of this survey are summarized in their report, Political Culture of Democracy 2008: The Impact of Governance.

SUPPORT FOR DEMOCRACY

The overall pattern that emerges from this Jamican survey shows that there is relatively strong popular commitment to basic norms of democracy and the related ideals of equality, freedom, tolerance and social justice--when compared with 22 other Latin American and Caribbean countries. On a variety of possible measures of democracy, Jamaicans ranked within the upper third among the nations surveyed in the LAPOP study Jamaicans ranked 8th among the 23 countries in their belief that democracy “is better than any other form of government,” 4th in their belief in the legitimacy of the country’s core political institutions (national government, justice system, political parties), 6th in tolerance for minority and opposition rights, and 9th in support for the right of public contestation.

Dr. Lawrence and Mr. Lewis.
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POLICE-CITIZEN RELATIONS

The survey also probed relations between law enforcement authorities and the citizens they serve. Findings indicate that, contrary to impressions common in sensationalistic media reports, most Jamaicans feel that when police come into their neighbourhood they are “there to help” rather than “there to abuse,” and 3 out of 4 Jamaicans feel the interests of the police and the people in their neighbourhood are “in common” rather than “opposed.” About two-thirds also say they would be willing to cooperate in “working closely” with police to fight crime in a joint police-citizen programme, with only a third saying they would “hesitate” to do this.

CORRUPTION AND DISTRUST

Findings on perceived corruption within the political system were less encouraging, however. 96% of the Jamaican respondents described corruption among public officials as either “common” or “very common”--the highest score across all 23 LAPOP nations. Citizen reports of actual corruption were somewhat lower, with about 25% reporting personal experience of corrupt acts or proposals. Finding on the low degree of interpersonal trust within Jamaican society were also worrisome--with about 84% saying that other persons in Jamaica cannot be trusted, and there were similarly high levels of distrust in Jamaican government officials.

NEED FOR NATIONAL POLICIES FOCUSED ON SOCIAL INTEGRATION

The research should be of value to public and private sector policymakers in Jamaica, as the analysis helps to identify policies that are most likely to be favoured by the electorate, as opposed to strategies that may result in alienation or resistence by citizens. To assume that such culturally-rooted “habits of the heart” are unimportant, or unmeasureable, runs the risk of generating national policies that will be socially and culturally ineffective. In particular, given the distrust and corruption perception findings, the research affirms the need for government to focus more heavily on trust-building community integration strategies, in order to build social capital and address chronic issues of violent crime, poverty and unemployment.