The broad theme of this thesis is the analysis of increasing social and
spatial differentiation in Papua New Guinea. More specifically, the
thesis investigates how people of different regions respond to new
forms of capital. and examines the importance of class and gender
relations. The analysis of regional diversity considers an alternative
methodology for inter- regional and intra-regional comparisons of
socio-economic well-being.
The analysis is conducted at two spatial scales: the inter-regional
comparison of Coastal Madang. Goroka Valley and the Middle Sepik; and
the intra- regional comparison of the peri-urban villages, Karkar
Island and Bagabag Island within Coastal Madang. Statistical data and
secondary sources are used to investigate the inter-regional dirnension
whereas fieldwork informs the local level analysis .
Different and complex combinations of class relations exist in the
three regions. The emergence of regional class formations is determined
primarily by the history of layers of capital invested in the region
and the influence of the state in that process. Social relations from
the pre-capitalist social formation appear to be more persistent and
influential in some regions than in others. The ecological base sets
the pre-conditions for but does not determine the course of socioeconomic
development in each region.
Although class relations are an important form of social inequality,
gender inequalities are also profound. No consistent relationship was
found between class and gender. In some cases gender relations actively
determined the nature of emerging productive relations while in others
they passively adjusted. Detailed case studies illustrate people's
involvement in new forms of productive activity thereby altering the
sexual division of labour. Nevertheless. patriarchy persists
everywhere
