When we forget, we run the risk of reinventing the wheel. Jamaica in the 21st Century: Revisiting the 1st Decade is a challenge and a reminder, lest we forget what ground has been covered in Jamaica’s social, political and religious life, particularly at the onset of the 21st century. Trawling through public discourse and debates in Jamaica, the book distills and surfaces the main issues that captured the attention of the public: gambling, homosexuality and human sexuality, education, crime, violence, the church and politics, to name a few. Many of the issues that preoccupy us at this time are issues that have been addressed before. It might be of use to familiarise ourselves with the earlier discussion. This book then is a sort of archaeological and socio-historical enterprise, designed to aid memory and, if possible, to help us see the progress we have made and avoid reinvention of the wheel.

Contributions by: Petal Thompson-Williams