The Problem of Freedom: Race, Labor, and Politics in Jamaica and Britain, 1832-1938

by Thomas C. Holt and Professor Thomas C. Holt

Book Overview

The Jamaican slave revolt of 1831-32 precipitated the abolition of slavery throughout the British colonial empire. A century later, the labor rebellion of 1938 marked the beginning of that empire's end. Each event embraced a particular form of emancipation: at issue in the first revolt was the freedom of the individual slave; at issue in the second was the freedom of the society itself. The century that separated these watersheds in British colonial...

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0801842913
• ISBN13: 9780801842917
• Release Date: November 1991
• Publisher: Johns Hopkins University Press
• Length: 552 Pages
• Weight: 1.65 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.3" x 6.0" x 9.0"
• Grade Range: Postsecondary and higher

Customer Reviews

Big Book, Big Implications

Holt studies Jamaica,from the emanicpation of the slaves to the labor problems faced by ex-slaves in the 1930s. But the narrow focus is misleading - really Holt writes about "the problem of freedom:" the tast of socializing ex-slaves into becoming productive laborers - the problem of convincing freedpeople that it's in their best interest to labor for tiny wages, for the profit of the wealthy. Another major focus is the inherent contradictions of classical liberalism - economic freedom does and always has required brutal and blatent inequalities in the political and social spheres.Certainly not everyone will agree with Holt, but his argumentation and analysis are impeccable. If you believe that self-determination and free enterprise are practically the same thing - or if you think that capitalism and democracy are one and the same - you must read Holt's book.